Nott Your Average Marriage
by 1DragonFire1
Summary: Charlotte Thompson finishing her sixth year at Hogwarts, only to begin her summer with devastating news. She has to get married to Theodore Nott!
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. However, Charlotte Thompson is my OC._

 **CHAPTER 1**

When Charlotte got down from the train after her sixth year, she only knew that her summer was only going to be worse. The fact that she only saw her mother on the platform confirmed her predictions.

"Mother, what is going on?" Charlotte questioned. She was wondering where the rest of her family was.

"There is no time for questions dear, just follow me." Jane Thompson told her daughter. She led Charlotte to the corner of the train station and suddenly apparated.

When Charlotte opened her eyes, she saw that she was in front of a house. Jane led her into the house. "Where are where?" she asked taking in her surroundings.

Jane answered her, "We are in a safe house, this used to be your Grandfather's before he died." It was smaller than her family home, but she found it nice and comfortable.

"Charlie! You are home!" she heard two voices behind her. Her two younger brothers were running towards her.

"I missed you two." She hugged David first then Luke. She studied them closely, both of them grew considerably since Christmas. David was eleven and he would be going Hogwarts next year while she was in her seventh year. Luke, who was the youngest, turned seven recently.

Her brothers helped her carry her trunk and to her temporary bedroom. She took a bath and came down for dinner. Her brothers asked her many questions about her year, including ones about Dumbledore's funeral. Charlotte noticed that something was troubling her mother.

After her mother tucked her brothers to bed, she joined Charlotte in her bedroom. Jane grabbed a brush from the dresser and began combing her daughter's hair. Jane absolutely loved Charlotte's golden blonde hair and begged Charlotte to keep it long. Currently it was waist length.

Tired of the silence between them, Charlotte sighed, "Mother, I can tell something is bothering you. What is wrong?"

Jane looked at her daughter's face and she gently started, "I'm afraid I have some terrible news for you. You are to be wedded soon."

"What?" Charlotte got up. What was her mother talking about?

Jane took Charlotte's hand, "Listen carefully. Many generations ago, the Notts and the Thompsons were good friends. At that time both Heads of the families made a blood pact that their son and daughter would be married to each other. However as both families only produced males, the pact was never initiated. Until…"

"I was born." Charlotte completed. Suddenly she was angry, "Have you known about this my whole life and you never told me?"

Jane calmed her daughter down, "Your grandparents and your father knew about this. I only found out on your father's deathbed." Charlotte softened remembering her dad's recent demise with the dragon pox. "He said that he never told you because, he wanted you to grow up without thinking about your betrothal. Your grandparents, on the other hand, wanted to tell you."

Charlotte remembered visits to her grandparents, her grandmother would make her learn about pureblood customs and practice dancing. She would hear, "You need to know this when you become a pureblood bride." Charlotte never thought that her grandma was actually being serious when she said that. However when she started Hogwarts the lessons became scarce and eventually her grandparents died.

"Lord Nott owled me few days ago, reminding me that he intends to keep the pact up." Jane said stroking her daughter's beautiful hair.

"So I have to marry Theodore Nott? Why does it have to be now? What happens if I don't marry him?" Charlotte enquired.

"Yes dear. The wedding has to happen when you turn of age and if the pact is not fulfilled both families will be cursed. Blood pacts are very dangerous business." Jane answered.

Charlotte thought about it, she was turning seventeen on July 9th, that was less than month away! She sighed, "Yes mother, I will marry him." She turned around and tried to go to sleep, but all she could think about was her impending future.

Over the next few weeks Charlotte spent time brushing up on the pureblood customs and rules. From what she heard from her mother, was very old fashioned. With the safe house previously belonging to her grandparents, she found many books on the pureblood marriages and customs.

Since their family was pureblood, her mother decided to go into hiding, to avoid being recruited for the Dark Lord. The Ministry was slowly starting to be overrun with You-Know-Who's followers.

On July 8th, the day before her birthday, she decided to tell David what was really happening. So far, both her mother and her were being vague about what was going on. Even though, David was young, he was quite intuitive. Definite Ravenclaw material, she thought.

Clearing her throat, she began, "David, I won't be at home for the rest of the summer."

"Does it have something to do with all the reading and secrecy with mum?" he asked back.

Damn her brother noticed her actions the last few weeks. "Yes. I'm getting married tomorrow."

"What?" he yelled out. David was normally a quiet kid, so the fact that he raised his voice meant he was truly upset.

Charlotte continued to explain the blood pact between the two families the Nott and Thompsons.

"There must be something you can do to avoid getting married?"

"You mean other than kill myself?" she asked dryly. She watched David wince at her harsh words.

"So, this Nott bloke, do you know him?" David asked.

"We're in the same year at school and he's a Slytherin. He's a bully and hangs out with Malfoy. Mr. Nott is a death eater, but I'm not sure about him. We never talked before, but we shared classes."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, I will still see you at Hogwarts." Suddenly she gulped, what if she was expected to drop out of school? Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, she continued to talk to her brother.

The next day she woke up feeling dread. Her mother made a special breakfast and her brothers wished her a happy birthday. After eating, she had to get dressed, Mr. Nott would be sending a house elf to collect at her noon.

She wore a simple royal blue dress robes, they were doing a simple wedding ceremony at the Ministry. Her mother came into the room, "I really wish there was something I could."

"I just wished I was told about this before." Charlotte admitted.

Jane looked at her daughter, "I've never told you this before, but your father and I had an arranged marriage." Charlotte looked at her mother in shock, her parents were really close and in love. "It was a little awkward at first, but every day that we spent together I learned something new. It took some time for us to open to each other, but marriage is not only about love. It is about compromise and respect. Eventually the romance develops over time."

Charlotte blanched, there was no way that she would love Nott. "I'm too young and I've had dreams after school. Now I'm not sure what will happen."

Jane sympathized, "Here, I wanted to give this to you." She handed Charlotte a silver hair ornament with roses. "I know I can't be at the wedding, but I wore this hair clip for my wedding." Charlotte pinned the ornament to her hair and looked in the mirror. She sighed and tried to keep the tears from falling.

After two hours, she stood outside her house with a trunk to take to the Nott house. She had a tearful goodbye with her mother and brothers. Poor little Luke had no idea what was going on, he was told that his sister was going to spend the rest of the summer at a friend's house.

On the dot at noon, an house elf appeared right next to her. "I'm Wheezy. Master Nott requests that I escort you." Charlotte nodded and Wheezy took her trunk from her. He held on to her robe with his other hand and apparated them.

She opened her eyes and found herself in a small room with a desk. "Ms. Thompson." She turned around and found that three men were looking at her. She recognized two of the men, Mr. Nott and Theodore Nott.

Mr. Nott, who looked almost as old as her grandfather, firmly asked, "Your mother explained everything, I suppose?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, let's not waste any time. This is Phineas, he will be officiating the wedding."

Phineas looked like he was bored out of his mind, "Will the groom and bride come forward?"

Theodore and Charlotte came and stood next to Phineas. "Mr. Nott please hold Ms. Thompson's hands." Theodore held both his hands out and Charlotte gently placed her hands in his. "We are here to make official this union between Theodore Cantankerus Nott and Charlotte Gwen Thompson." Charlotte grimaced, she hated her middle name. "Do you Theodore Cantankerus Nott take Charlotte Gwen Thompson as your wife?"

Charlotte looked up at Theodore as he replied, "I do."

"And do you Charlotte Gwen Thompson take Theodore Cantankerus Nott as your husband?"

"I do."

"May I have the rings?" Mr. Nott came forward and handed a box to Phineas. Giving the rings to both of them, "Please exchange the rings." Theodore took her left hand and slid the ring on to her finger. Charlotte did the same, but she could not stop her hand from trembling.

"I now declare you, Mr. Nott and Mrs. Nott, husband and wife." Charlotte looked in awe as a glowing grey light travelled from his ring to hers. "You may now kiss the bride." Charlotte looked up and saw Theodore leaning forward and closed her eyes. He placed a chaste kiss on her lips and moved away.

"Thank you Phineas. You will not tell anyone of the events in this room." Mr. Nott placed a small bag of galleons in officiator's hand. "Wheezy!" The house elf appeared. "Take us home!" Mr. Nott barked.

Theodore took his new wife's hand and pulled her towards his father. Wheezy apparated them out of the Ministry room. Charlotte opened her eyes to a huge dark room.

Mr. Nott turned to Charlotte, "Welcome to Nott Manor. Porky will give you a tour of the manor, Theodore go follow them. Tomorrow I expect you to start your duty as lady of the house." Charlotte nodded and Mr. Nott walked out of the room. Few seconds later another house elf appeared.

"Mistress Charlotte! I'm Porky. Welcome to Nott Manor!" the female elf squeaked. Charlotte followed the enthusiastic house elf, with Theodore trailing behind.

Theodore followed Charlotte and Porky. He had been dreading this day all summer. His father immediately told him about his impending wedding plans the moment he returned from Hogwarts. He didn't even know her well, he just knew that she was a Ravenclaw (at least she wasn't a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, he shuddered at thought). He saw her hanging out with the other Patil twin and the other Ravenclaws. She wasn't bad to look at, he had to admit. Her long golden hair was pretty and he observed it swishing from side to side when she walked.

Charlotte was trying her best to pay attention to Porky, but felt Theodore's deep gaze on her. She noticed that the manor was quite spacious and there were many rooms. However only few of them were used. What a waste, she thought. Her spirits lifted when Porky showed her the library, there were many books and shelves. It almost rivaled the Hogwarts library in size.

Porky lead Charlotte to her room, which she learned was right next to Theodore's. "Dinner is at 7." Porky announced and left the two of the them standing outside their rooms.

"Hello." Charlotte said meekly, trying to make conversation.

He simply replied, "Hello." They both stood there awkwardly without saying anything.

"Well, I'm going to my room. I will see you at dinner." She escaped the weird silence and retreated to her room. When she closed the door, the reality of the situation finally sunk in. She was now a wife, the lady of Nott Manor. Charlotte looked around and saw that her things from the trunk were already unpacked.

She looked at the clock, it was two in the afternoon. Has it only been two hours since she left her house? It felt like an eternity. She wrote a letter to her mother and Daivd. She would figure out how to mail them later, since she didn't have an owl with her.

Charlotte was bored, so she crept out of her room and made her way down to the library. She immediately found a book and settled on the couch. Before she opened the book, she called Porky to come back to her when it was five. Charlotte had a bad habit of losing track of time when she read.

At five, Charlotte regretfully put the book down and went back to her room to dress for dinner. She took a bath and changed into appropriate dinner robes and headed to the dining room.

Mr. Nott and Theodore were already at the table waiting for her. "Good to see that you are punctual. However next time wear your hair properly."

"Yes, sir." She had forgotten that married ladies kept their hair up. Even though many of the pureblood rules were not commonly practiced modernly, Mr. Nott was old fashioned. Mr. Nott sat at the head of the table, Theodore to his left, and she sat next to Theodore.

The house elves came and served them food. Charlotte could feel Mr. Nott's gaze on her, so she made sure to remember her table manners. Suddenly Mr. Nott said, "You two realize that you both must consummate this marriage before midnight."

Theodore stilled and Charlotte chocked on a piece of chicken, "Pardon?" she coughed out.

Mr. Nott gave an amused look, "The rings on your hands are magic. If the marriage is not consummated by midnight, it will be annulled. We don't want the families to be cursed. So you both better make sure it is not annulled."

Charlotte already knew about wizard marriages. To be honest, she did a lot of reading beforehand. She was aware of the consummation thing, but had put it in the back of her mind. Now she was internally freaking out.

The rest of dinner was eaten in silence. Mr. Nott left the table then Theodore got up. Charlotte followed him to his room. He held out the door for her to enter. He went to sit on his bed and motioned for her to join him. She sat on the opposite corner.

"Look, I'm sorry about this." Theodore started, "Trust me, I don't want to be married at 17. Let's just act civil around each other."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean you don't need to act so formal around me, I don't care about that pureblood wife crap. We can just do just do our own thing during the day."

"Thank you." She said and she meant it.

He became flustered, "However, we still need to consummate this tonight."

Charlotte became red and started blushing. She nodded in agreement. He started to move towards her, but she stopped him. "Just one question. Did you know about marriage beforehand?" she asked. She would have been a little upset if he knew about it his whole life and didn't bother to mention it to her.

"No, I just found out this summer." She nodded for him to continue. He came close to her face and put his hands on her shoulders. "I promise to be gentle." He gently began to nip her neck and saw a tear rolling down her face. He put his hands in her hair and whispered, "You have such beautiful hair."

* * *

 **AN:** So I'm a sucker for arranged marriage fan fiction, so I attempted to write one. I choose to do it for an OC, because it would give me more freedom with the character. I think I read somewhere that Mr. Nott's first name is Cantankerus, so I made it Theodore's middle name. Please review what you think so far. Next few chapters would be still in the summer.


	2. Chapter 2

_I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. However, Charlotte Thompson is my OC._

 **CHAPTER 2**

Charlotte woke up feeling extremely cold. As she was trying to regain her thoughts, all her memories from yesterday came flooding in. She looked around and saw Theodore sleeping a few inches away from her. They were both naked and she remembered the events of the previous night.

She gently rose from the bed and wrapped her robes loosely around herself. Without making a sound she escaped the room. Looking at the time, she realized that she had a few hours before she needed to start her daily duties. She had time to freshen up and look presentable.

In the bath, she wiped away the evidence of sex trickling down her thighs. Theodore had been gentle with her, but it still hurt as it was her first time. She wanted her first time to be with lust and love. Instead the sex last night was mechanical, only enough to complete the job, nothing more. As a pureblood wife, she would be expected to oblige if her husband asked for sex. However, she had been assured from Theodore that he wouldn't do that.

Wearing clean dress robes, she looked at the mirror and was at lost. "Porky." She needed some help with her hair.

"Yes, Mistress Charlotte."

"Porky can you help me with my hair?" she gestured to the head.

The house elf immediately and helped Charlotte decide what to do with her. They finally agreed on a simple braided chignon. Charlotte then immediately went down the kitchens where the other house elfs were preparing breakfast and made sure everything was running smoothly. She then went to check on the table set up for breakfast and made some changes.

Both Mr. Nott and Theodore made their way to the breakfast table. She waited for the two men to sit, before having a seat. Charlotte couldn't look at Theodore without blushing.

Mr. Nott turned his attention to his Charlotte, "Your appearance is much better today. I expect to be served tea at 11 and 5 in my study whenever I am present in the manor. You do know how to prepare tea, correct?"

"Yes sir, I do."

"Good." He went back to eating his food and talking to his son. Before completing his meal, he spoke once again, "The Notts are a very private family. That's why there is no news of your marriage anywhere. Please don't spread any rumors and news."

Charlotte nodded, it's not like she wanted to announce to the world she was married to Theodore Nott. She ate the rest of breakfast in silence.

At 11, she stood outside Mr. Nott's study with a tray of tea. Knocking, she entered the room to bring him Tea. She found that Theodore was also there with him. Remembering her tea lessons from her grandmother, she carefully prepared two cups of tea. She knew that both of them were watching her hands closely to observe. She made one of her grandmother's favorite tea recipe hoping they would enjoy it.

She gently placed a teacup in front of both them and waited for them to drink it. Mr. Nott brought the cup to his nose and sniffed it lightly. He then proceeded to sip the tea, "Wonderful, I haven't had this type of tea for a while now." He admitted and Charlotte smiled, she was glad he enjoyed it. She waited till they were both done and collected their cups and left the room.

After checking in with the house elves on the lunch menu, she went to the library. Finding her book from the previous day she read until she was called away for lunch. She was surprised to only see Theodore there. "My father went to a friend's house, he won't be back for a few hours.", he explained.

They ate lunch awkwardly, Charlotte could not look at him for long and Theodore kept looking like he wanted to say something. "Is it alright if I fix the garden?" she asked. Charlotte noticed the huge garden was filled with weeds and looked like no one touched it for years.

Theodore shrugged, "If you want to. My father doesn't care much for the gardens." Charlotte could tell, compared to the rest of the manor, the garden was a shabby mess. "Are you okay?" he suddenly asked. She gave him a confused look. "I mean, after last night."

Charlotte's face immediately redden and she stuttered, "Yes I'm fine, just a little sore, but I'm fine."

"That's good." Theodore looked a little relieved.

After lunch, Charlotte found her Herbology gloves and headed to the garden. She changed into a white blouse and long brown skirt. The garden was even more of a mess than she thought. She went to work and started pulling the weeds and cleaning up. After she was tired, she said a quick _scorgify_ to clean the mess with her wand. There was still lot more work to be done, but she will work on it later.

She served tea for Mr. Nott at 5 and had to prepare for dinner. By the time dinner was done, she was exhausted. There was so many things that she needed to take care off. Before she went to bed, she asked Porky to take her letters to her family.

The routine of her new daily life continued to be the same boring thing every day. Charlotte made huge progress with the garden, it was still empty and barren. One day, towards the end of July, Mr. Nott made an announcement.

"I will be gone for a week." Mr. Nott said during dinner. "I trust you both will take care of the house appropriately."

Charlotte was excited, she might finally get a break from this pureblood wife nonsense. After dinner, the Theodore and Charlotte watched Mr. Nott apparate for his "trip." Charlotte was smart enough to understand he was doing Death Eater duties.

Theodore and Charlotte walked together to their rooms. "Wait a minute." He stopped her from entering her room. He reached out and put his hands in her hair and tugged gently, pulling it out of the bun. "Wear your hair however you want this week. I like your hair." He retreated to his room right away.

She blushed right away and went inside her room. Theodore and her barely talked after their wedding.

The next morning, she woke up feeling thrilled. She had the freedom to do whatever she wanted. She went down to the kitchen and grabbed some fruit, then went to the library. Sitting comfortably on the couch, she got lost in the world of the books.

Suddenly Porky arrived and startled her so badly that she dropped her book. "Sorry Mistress Charlotte, but Master Theodore told me to bring you some food."

Charlotte looked out the window and saw that the sun was almost setting. She almost spent the whole day reading! Thanking Porky, she ate her food carefully not spilling it anywhere. Going up to her room, she found her mom's old broomstick which was passed down to her.

Charlotte enjoyed flying, even though she wasn't a huge fan of quidditch. The night looked beautiful and she wanted to go for a fly. Going out to the garden she mounted the broom and set off. She could see the wards around the manor and made sure to avoid going pass them.

From above she saw Theodore coming out of the house with a broom in his hand. He flew up next to her. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I just felt like flying. Thank you for sending food for me in the library."

"No, problem." He looked a little hesitant to speak, "Listen, I need a favor. My mates are coming tomorrow to the manor…"

"Oh, shall I prepare the manor for the guests?" she interrupted.

"No, uh, you see, I don't really want to tell them about our marriage. Not that there is anything wrong with you. I just am not comfortable with it." Theodore admitted sheepishly. "So I was hoping, that you could keep yourself hidden for a few hours."

Charlotte wasn't offended that Theodore didn't want to share news of their marriage to his friends. She wouldn't want to tell her friends either. "May, I go visit my family instead?"

"Sure, that sounds great." Theodore thought about it for a second, "Tell me about your family."

Charlotte then proceeded to tell him about her family. She talked about her younger brothers and how David was going to be attending Hogwarts this year. It was starting to get cold and they decided to go back inside.

Before Theodore went into his room, Charlotte grabbed his hand. She took out her hand and casted a glamour spell on his hand. "Use this spell, when you need to hide your ring. It's a glamour spell." The ring on his hand disappeared and his fingers looked barren. He thanked her and they went separate ways.

The next morning, she got ready and asked Porky to take her to the family's safe house. When she arrived, her mother felt a shift in the protection wards and came out of the house immediately. Jane realized who was outside and rushed towards her. "Charlotte!" she came to hug her daughter. "Are you alright? Did something happen?" she was surprised by her daughter's sudden appearance.

"I'm alright, mother. Mr. Nott left for a week, so I decided to spend a day here." Charlotte followed her mother into the house.

David was reading a book on the couch, but immediately got up when he saw her. "Charlie!" he rushed forward to hug her.

She spent time talking with her brothers and reassuring David that she was fine. When she was alone with her mother, they were finally able to talk about intimate things. "How is there?" Jane asked.

Charlotte talked about her daily life, the library, , and the garden. "What about Theodore?" Jane noticed that her daughter told her everything about her new life, except for her husband. Jane was hoping that he wasn't treating Charlotte badly.

"Oh, he seems okay. We don't really talk much."

"He is not too rough with you, during bedtimes activities?" Jane was concerned for her daughter.

"Mother!" she started blushing, "Uhm, we only did it once. It was okay."

"Did you check if you're pregnant?" Jane asked seriously.

"No, I can't be pregnant. We only did it once."

"Sometimes once is enough." Jane took out her wand, "Let me perform the spell on you. If the tip of my wand turns green you are pregnant." Jane pointed at Charlotte's stomach and muttered the spell. After a few seconds, the tip of the want turned purple.

Charlotte sighed out in relief, she wasn't pregnant.

Jane changed the subject and talked about Luke and his obsession with playing exploding snap. Jane suddenly felt something a strange shift in the wards, "Someone is here. Stay here, protect your brothers." Charlotte didn't listen to her and followed her outside.

"Who are you?" Jane had her wand out pointing at the intruder. Charlotte looked at the intruder and saw Theodore with his wand out to defend himself.

"Mother stop, it's Theodore."

Jane immediately brought her wand down. "Oh, I apologize about that." She looked at Theodore with curiosity.

Theodore immediately said, "No it's alright, I stopped by unexpected."

"Is everything alright? Why are you here?" Charlotte asked. She was not expecting Theodore to be here.

"Oh, my friends left. So I came to get you, but I can send Porky to get you later." Theodore awkwardly turned around feeling a little embarrassed and started to walk away.

"Nonsense. Come stay for dinner." Jane suggested.

"Mother." Charlotte whispered, she didn't think that it was a good idea.

"Where are my manners?" he remembered. "Mrs. Thompson, I am Theodore Nott. It is nice to finally meet you. However, I don't want to intrude…"

"Please come and have some dinner." Jane insisted. She started walking back to the house with Theodore and Charlotte following her.

David and Luke were inside wondering what was going on. "Charlie, who is this?" Luke asked.

Charlotte blushed, "Uh this is my friend, Theodore Nott." David recognized the name and his face turned into a scowl.

Luke innocently asked, "Oh is this the friend's house that you have been staying at?"

Charlotte nodded while blushing slightly and led Theodore to the dining table. Luke and David followed, while Jane went to the kitchen. Charlotte went to help her mother with the food. "Mother, why did you invite him here?" she asked.

Jane replied, "I just wanted to know my son-in-law." Jane saw Charlotte flinch at "son-in-law."

When they both came out, they saw Luke and Theodore talking. Jane passed the food around and they began to start eating.

"So Theodore, do you know what you want to do after Hogwarts?" Jane asked.

Theodore cleared his throat, "I'm interested in curse breaking. However, I'm not sure if that is possible for me." He was referring to the fact that he might be forced to become a Death Eater and take over his father's business.

"I think curse breaking is such an exciting career path. It's good that you found something you like. Charlotte here, still hasn't found something that interests her."

Charlotte looked embarrassed, but inside she wondered if Mr. Nott would even allow her to work. The rest of the dinner went okay with Luke and Jane asking most of the questions. David was still upset about the whole situation, so he didn't talk to Theodore at all.

After dinner, Charlotte had to say bye to her family. As Theodore and her walked outside to apparate, he suddenly said, "You can stay behind, if you want?"

"Really?" she was not expecting that at all.

"Yeah, my father is won't be back for another couple of days. You can stay back with your family for that time."

"Oh, thank you so much." She gave him a quick hug out of gratitude and went back inside the house.

As she spent the next few days with her family, she couldn't help but think of Theodore at random times of the day. Finally the day for her to go back to Nott Manor arrived.

Theodore was standing outside waiting for her. She said good bye to her family and went out the door.

"Why are you here? You could have sent Porky."

Theodore slightly blushed, "Oh uh, I wanted to come get you."

Charlotte smiled and wrapped her arm around his arm. They ended up back in the Nott house. "My father will be here tomorrow morning, he is normally not in a good mood after these 'trips', so just be careful."

"Okay, Thank you once again for letting me stay at my family's house." She reached up and gave him a kiss on the check and went to her room.

Theodore stood there in shock with one hand on his cheek.

* * *

AN: I had Mr. Nott leave during the end of July (Harry's 17 birthday) and come back beginning of August (Bill and Fleur's wedding). Those were the times when the death eaters were after Harry, in the seventh book.


	3. Chapter 3

_I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. However, Charlotte Thompson is my OC._

 **Chapter 3**

Theodore was right, Mr. Nott was not in a good mood when he arrived the next morning. Lucky for Charlotte, she made sure that the house was cleaned and prepared tea for him. Mr. Nott was curt and dismissed her right away after the tea.

Charlotte went to the library, not wanting to anger Mr. Nott. She certainly missed her one week of relaxation. During dinner, Mr. Nott spoke up, "Charlotte, we will have a guest for a few days, please prepare the manor."

"Yes." Charlotte answered, she noticed that Theodore tensed up at the word, "guest", but chose to ignore it. "When will the guest arrive?" she asked.

"Tomorrow evening." Mr. Nott gruffly answered.

The next morning she made sure that one of the guests room was in the proper condition with the house elves' help. She also proceeded to choose the appropriate menu for that evening.

In the afternoon, she decided to get some more work done in the garden. She put her hair in a low ponytail and changed into simpler clothing. When she was busy digging, she didn't notice a figure come up behind her. "Now what's a pretty girl doing out here in the dirt."

Charlotte immediately got up and drew her wand. "Whoa, hold on. I don't bring harm."

"Who are you?" she asked warily.

The man raised an eyebrow, "Nott didn't say I was coming?"

Charlotte dropped her wand to her side and gushed out, "Oh I apologize. Let me escort you inside." She walked a little bit ahead and motioned for him to follow her. The guest had arrived earlier than she was told, so she felt a little flustered.

"Who are you?" I haven't seen you here before." He looked at her up and down while they were walking.

"I'm Charlotte Nott."

"Oh really?" the man leered. "Hmm, a Nott. Well I'm Scabior."

She called Wheezy, "Please escort Mr. Scabior to Mr. Nott's study." Then she turned to Scabior, "Please excuse my hasty departure, I need to go freshen up."

Charlotte rushed up the stairs and went to her room. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she became embarrassed. There was a streak of dirt on her face, her hair was a mess, and her clothes were muddy. She was lucky that Mr. Nott didn't see her like this.

After a quick shower, she tied her hair up and wore formal dark red robes. She headed to the dining room to prepare for dinner. Wheezy then announced the arrival of the three men, Mr. Nott, Scabior, and Theodore.

Mr. Nott formally introduced the guest, "Scabior, this is Charlotte Nott." Scabior walked up and kissed Charlotte's hand.

"I didn't know you had a beautiful daughter." Charlotte's face turned bright red.

"Watch your tongue, she is lady of the Nott House." Being lady of a family house either meant a woman was married into the family or was the last living heir.

"Oh, my apologies." Scabior looked at Charlotte again. "Isn't she a little young for you, Mr. Nott?"

"No, you imbecile! She is Theodore's wife." At this point Charlotte was completely embarrassed. Mr. Nott continued to explain, "I needed to make sure that my family house would be taken care off, if anything would happen to me." He was referring to his death eater duties and the upcoming wizarding war.

Charlotte knew that Mr. Nott didn't want to mention the family pact (or curse), so she cleared her throat and announced that dinner was ready. During dinner it was mainly Scabior and Mr. Nott talking. At one point, Scabior asked her for her maiden surname. When he found out it was Thompson, he had a slight smile on his face, "Oh is your mother, Jane Greengrass?" he asked.

Charlotte froze up, how did Scabior know her mother? "Yes, she is now Jane Thompson."

"Yes, it's a pity what happened to your father. I remembered your mother had many suitors waiting for her, before she married your father. You do look like your mother, except for the hair."

Theodore was starting to get annoyed, how dare Scabior look at Charlotte like that. She was married to him. When dinner was over, he grabbed Charlotte's wrist and stood up. "Pardon us, but we are going to retire to our rooms for the evening." Theodore pulled Charlotte along.

"Theodore what are you doing? It's rude to just leave like that." Charlotte was confused by his actions. He didn't say anything and continued walking towards to his room. Once he closed the door of the room, he finally spoke.

"Stay away from Scabior, he is not a good person."

"But, he is a guest. I need to be a good host." she protested.

"Fine, but don't be alone with him." Then there was an awkward silence between the two of them.

"Uh, I guess I will go now." Charlotte walked to the door.

"Good night."

She turned around and smiled, "Good night."

The next two days, Charlotte followed Theodore's words and avoided being alone with Scabior. When she had to make tea for Mr. Nott, Scabior was present as well. She would notice that he would look at her strangely as she was mixing the tea.

Today would be Scabior's last day in the Manor and in the afternoon Charlotte was in the library reading. She was so engrossed in reading, she didn't notice another figure walk in.

She dropped her book at the deep chuckle, "It's no doubt that you are a Ravenclaw."

"Oh, Mr. Scabior I didn't notice you entering. My apologizes." She discretely looked at the doors and tried to formulate a plan on getting out. "Oh I must be going." She picked up the book she dropped and went to the bookshelf to put it away.

While Charlotte put the book back, she saw two hands on both sides of her. She immediately turned around and saw Scabior right in front of her. He trapped her with both his hands. "You know, I was one of the suitors for your mother. She was quite the beauty, too bad she ended up with your pathetic father."

She started trembling, "Please let me go." Scabior did not relent his grip. He leaned forward and captured her neck with his lips.

Charlotte tried to reach for her wand, which was in the side pocket, but he stopped her and instead groped her ass. He then ripped the back of her dress, buttons flying everywhere. He pulled her to the ground and flipped her over.

"Please stop." She begged him and tried to kick and loosen his grip on her.

He snarled and grabbed the ribbon in her hair, pulling it out of the up-do, "I'm way more experienced than your husband, this could be pleasurable for you too."

She could feel his hands creeping underneath her dress robes and her vision was getting blurred with tears.

"Stupefy!" she heard a voice yelling out. She felt a weight being lifted from her and looked to her left and saw Scabior against a wall. Before he could pull out his wand, the same voice yelled out, "Petrificus Totalus!" and Scabior suddenly froze up.

Charlotte looked at the right and saw Theodore with his wand up and an angry expression on his face. He walked passed her and crouched down and glared at Scabior, "You will leave NOW or I will mention this to my father."

Theodore walked to Charlotte, who was still on the ground. "Are you alright?" he gently asked.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak coherently. He took off his outer robe and wrapped it around her.

"Let's get out of here." He helped Charlotte to her feet and walked back to her room. After he made sure she was in her room, he turned around to leave, but was stopped by her hand grabbing his.

Before he could fully turn back, she wrapped herself around him. "Thank you for saving me." She sobbed into him. He stood awkwardly at first but slowly settled his arms around her. He stroked her hair that he grew found of, while she tried to calm herself down.

She pulled away and wiped her tears. "I need to go get ready. I have to serve tea to your father soon."

"I can tell him you are not feeling well. You can take some rest" Theodore suggested.

"No, it's okay. Will he be gone by then?" she was referring to Scabior.

"He better be. The spell lasts an hour."

"Okay, thank you again." Theodore nodded and left the room. Charlotte went to put on another dress robe, since Scabior destroyed the one she was wearing. She took off her dress robe and laid in on the ground and whispered _Incendio_ to burn the dress robes to ashes.

When she went to serve tea, she was relieved that Scabior was nowhere in sight. Mr. Nott mentioned that Scabior had to leave suddenly and Charlotte finally relaxed.

During dinner Mr. Nott suddenly spoke up, "Charlotte I'm pleased with your presence to this household. You have excellent manners and tea making skills. I was impressed with how you handle your duties. Ask me for anything."

Charlotte was surprised and delighted at the same time. Her hard work had finally played off. She could ask for some jewels or dresses, but she actually wanted could make Mr. Nott mad. She decided to ask him anyway and hoped for the best. "I would like some rose bushes and flowers for the garden."

Mr. Nott suddenly became irate, "I don't see why you spend so much time in the garden. There is no use in having a garden." Mr. Nott was a strong believer in not wasting time.

Charlotte countered, "The garden reflects the people living inside. It is what people see first and it makes an lasting impression."

Mr. Nott considered this, "Hmm, that is a good point. Very well, take Theodore tomorrow and purchase whatever plants you desire."

Charlotte beamed, "Thank you, sir." She couldn't believe that Mr. Nott actually allowed her to continue working in the garden. She saw Theodore next to her give a small smile.

After dinner, Theodore walked her back to the room. "Be ready by nine tomorrow, we are going to Milanos."

Charlotte stopped walking, "Milanos?" she confirmed she heard correctly. Milanos was an expensive strip of magic stores in Italy. Only rich wizards and witches went there. "Why not Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade?" she questioned.

"Right now, Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade is not safe. Even though we are both purebloods, I rather not take any chances. Also you haven't been there before, right?" Theodore explained.

"Yes, that is true." Charlotte nodded.

The next morning, she wore her most expensive dress robes and applied more make up on her face than usual. She remembered her dorm mates gossiping about how appearance was important at Milanos.

She met Theodore outside in the gardens, he was wearing expensive clothing as well. He saw her and his eyes grew big and he blurted, "You look pretty."

Charlotte blushed and took his arm, "Thank you. You look nice as well." Theodore led her to a chair in the middle of the garden. She never saw the chair there before.

"This is a portkey, it will take us to Italy." They both grabbed the chair at the same time. Charlotte ended up falling on the ground as she was not used to taking portkeys. Theodore helped her up. The ended up in an abandoned alley. "We need to walk a little bit through muggle Italy to get to Milanos." Theodore informed her.

They cast dillusion charms on each other to not draw attention to themselves. As they walked through the muggle town, Charlotte was fascinated by the shear amount motorcycles and cars. The muggle fashion was quite interesting. She only been to muggle towns a few times in her life.

Theodore led her to a brick wall and tapped three specific bricks with his wand and the wall opened. The street before her was so magical and big. There was a diversity of wizards and witches from the world. "Do you know where the plant nursery is?" she asked Theodore.

"Yes, but we have the whole day to ourselves. Let's walk around, we can do the nursery last." Theodore suggested and grabbed her hand. They both walked around the shops of Milanos. She looked at the latest fashion of dress robes and Theodore offered to buy her some, but she vehemently refused.

For lunch, Theodore took her to a fancy restaurant. Theodore talked about his favorite classes at schools which included Potions. After lunch, they went into a bookshop and Charlotte would have spent the entire day in there, if Theodore didn't drag her out after few hours. He bought her few books, which she was thankful for. They had gelato, which was a dessert similar to ice cream.

Finally they ended up at the Botany shop, Charlotte who already researched what flowers she wanted for the garden talked with shop owner to get some more input. After a lot of contemplating they exited the store with iris, daffodil, and anemone seeds and rose bush seedlings. Theodore carried the box of flowers while Charlotte carried the books.

They made their way to the abandoned alley to the portkey chair. When they reached the Nott gardens, Charlotte called Porky to take the plants from Theodore. She would plant them the next day. Before she could head inside Theodore stopped her and presented her with a bouquet. "I bought them from the flower store. They're for you."

"Oh thank you. They are beautiful" She took them him and made a sudden decision. She reached up gave him a kiss on the lips. It was a very innocent kiss, but it was their second one after their wedding. She pulled away and blabbered, "Sorry, I wasn't thinking…"" She was interrupted by Theodore grabbing her face and deepening the kiss.

After a few seconds, he pulled away and teased her, "I don't mind."

Charlotte turned red, "I am going to go inside." She turned and ran away from him embarrassed.

Theodore stared at her running form and chuckled.

 _Towards the end of August_

While Charlotte was in the kitchens with the elves, an owl suddenly flew in through the windows. It dropped two envelopes and flew back outside. She looked at the envelopes, it was the Hogwarts letters.

She looked at her letter and blushed.

 _Mrs. C. Nott_

 _The Bedroom next to her Husband's._

 _Nott Manor_

 _Canterbury_

 _Kent_

It was weird seeing the "Mrs." and it was embarrassing that they knew where her bedroom was. She hoped that she could go by her maiden name in school, so people won't find out about Theodore. She opened the letter and was surprised that Professor Snape would be headmaster, she thought McGonagall would be next for that position. However, she had read the papers about how You-Know-Who's followers were slowly taking over the Ministry.

She walked to Theodore's bedroom where he was reading up on the family business. Mr. Nott owned many small trading business and Theodore was being forced to read up on all of them. She knocked on his door and entered. "Our Hogwarts letters came in." She gave him his and he blushed on the address of his letter, _The Bedroom next to his Wife's_.

"Did you know Professor Snape is going to be headmaster this year?" she asked him.

Theodore nodded, "I think I heard my father mentioning something about that."

There was an awkward silence between them, ever since that kiss in the garden. Charlotte had bashful and didn't know what to say to Theodore. "I will let you go back to your work."

"Charlotte wait. You have been ignoring me since that day in Milanos. I'm sorry I kissed you. I guess you didn't like it." Theodore rubbed his neck and put his head down low.

"No! The problem is that I did enjoy it!" she protested.

Theodore looked up, "Really? Then why have you been ignoring me?"

Charlotte sighed, "I just feel like I'm rushing into this so quickly. We've barely been married for six weeks. I'm not sure if my feelings are because we were forced into this or if they are genuine. When I kiss you, I don't want it to be because you are the only one I'm allowed to kiss, I want it to be because you're the only one I _want_ to kiss."

Theodore felt a little hurt by this, he kissed her because he _wanted_ to. "Oh I see."

"I'm just asking for some time for me to sort out my feelings. I barely know you and you barely know me. Let's try to know each other better first." Charlotte further explained.

"Okay, I can do that." He had to agree with her, he only knew Charlotte the pureblood wife. He didn't know her personally yet.

During dinner that day, Mr. Nott suddenly spoke up. "I heard you both received your Hogwarts letters today."

Theodore answered, "Yes father."

Mr. Nott brought his attention to his daughter-in-law, "Charlotte I was thinking that it is unnecessary for you to continue your education. You are now married, there is no point in going back to school. Your only job now is to take care of the manor and any future family members."

Charlotte was horrified, "Sir, it is just one more year. Please let me finish it, I promise to continue my duties after school."

"Silence! I have already made my decision, you will not talk back to me." Mr. Nott said sternly.

Charlotte bit the inside of her cheek to attempt to stop tears from falling. After dinner, she didn't bother waiting for Theodore and rushed to her bedroom. She threw herself on to the bed and started crying. It was so unfair that she was not allowed to go back to school. Her education was important to her.

After a few hours, she heard thumping outside her bedroom. Opening her door she saw Theodore leaning against the wall looking weak and bloodied up. "What is wrong?" she helped Theodore into his bedroom.

Theodore weakly said, "I was trying to convince my father to change his mind about you going to Hogwarts." He groaned when got on the bed.

"He did this to you?" she cried out. She called Porky and asked her to get some calming draught and bandages from the medicinal cabinet.

Charlotte was freaking out, but she carefully applied some salve to his cuts and wrapped them up in bandages. She gave him some calming draught and he visibly relaxed but he could not stop shaking. She checked his temperature but he seemed to be normal. She was trying to figure out why he was shaking and then suddenly remembered.

"Did he use the Cruciatus curse on you?" she meekly asked. He didn't answer and turned his head away. His silence answered the question.

She started crying, "Theodore, how could he do this to you? I'm sorry you got punished because of me."

Theodore held her hand and confessed, "It's not the first time he did this to me." He then gave a weak smile "At least it wasn't for nothing. I was able to convince him to allow you to go to school."

Charlotte piped up, "Really?" he nodded. She was grateful, but it hurt her to see him struggling like this. She remembered reading a spell in one of the old books in the Nott's library. She never tried it before and wasn't sure it if would work.

Remembering the wand movement and the incantation, she pointed her wand over Theodore's body. Theodore's body stopped shaking and he exclaimed, "I feel so much better! What did you do?"

Charlotte smiled, it worked! "I read this spell in the library. I'm glad it worked."

Theodore started to fall asleep, due to how tired he was. Charlotte climbed into bed with him. She told herself she was only staying to make sure Theodore would be okay through the night. However she would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy his warmth.

* * *

AN: Scabior was one of the snatchers who would eventually capture the trio later. Milanos is a made up place, kind of like an expensive, posh Diagon alley. Next chapter, they finally will be start their seventh year!


	4. Chapter 4

_I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. However, Charlotte Thompson is my OC._

 **CHAPTER 4**

The next morning, Charlotte was scared to face Mr. Nott. If he used the Cruciatus curse on his own son, who knows what he would do to her. She nervously made her way to the dining room table and waited for Mr. Nott and Theodore.

Theodore showed up first and gave her a small smile. He still looked weak and his hand was bandaged. Mr. Nott entered and saw Theodore and Charlotte scowled.

Mr. Nott sat down first, then Theodore and Charlotte followed. "Listen up, I've decided to change my mind about your schooling." He looked at Charlotte, "You may finish your seventh year, but you are not to tell anyone that the two of you are married. Family pacts are illegal now, but there is nothing we can do. This pact was made many decades ago."

"Thank you sir." Charlotte felt relief coursing through her body. She was going to make sure not to upset her father-in-law for the next few days before the term started.

After breakfast, she needed to pen a letter to Snape about her last name. The school's magic must have changed her name automatically for the class roster.

 _Dear Headmaster Snape,_

 _Over the summer, I've gotten married and I am now Charlotte Nott. In the interests of the Nott family, it is imperative that this remains a secret. Please allow me to go by my maiden name Thompson._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Charlotte Nott_

She sent the letter with the Nott family owl to Hogwarts. She then went to Theodore's room to ask about school books and supplies.

He responded, "I was going to Diagon alley tomorrow to buy our supplies. Give me your list."

"Can I come to Diagon Alley with you?" she asked.

"It will be swarming with ministry officials and death eaters. It's best if you stay back."

Charlotte pouted, "Alright." She gave him her list of supplies.

Theodore laughed, "Are you pouting? I've never seen that expression on you before."

She harrumphed, "No, I'm not." She turned and left his room.

 _September 1_

Charlotte made her way with her trunks to the garden to meet Theodore. They needed to apparate to King's Cross.

Looking around the garden, the plants were slowly starting to grow in. Charlotte left instructions to the house elves on how to take care of the garden. She also received a letter from Snape, about how he took care of her last name situation.

Theodore was waiting for her near the front gate of the mansion. He came forward to help with her trunks. "Wheezy will take us to King's Cross. You look beautiful."

Charlotte looked down and remembered what she was wearing. She choose a dark red dress robe with a lower neckline, than most of her clothes. Since she was going to be in public, she wore lipstick that matched the red of her outfit. Also she wore her hair down in an half up-do. "Thank you."

"Are you ready? I will call Wheezy."

"Wait!" she grabbed his hand. She cast a glamour spell on his ring, to disguise it. "There, now your ring is disguised."

Theodore held her hand, before she could move it away. He placed a gentle kiss on her hand, "Charlotte, be careful. This school year will be different, I can't help you if you get into trouble."

She nodded and he released her hands and called Wheezy. They apparated to an alley behind the King's Cross. Theodore left first and she waited few minutes before leaving the alley. They were quite early, so not many people were on the platform. Charlotte decided to wait outside, making a makeshift chair out of her trunks, she sat properly and opened her book.

Theodore watched his wife from the train window of his compartment. He decided instead of waiting outside, he was going to sit in the train. He saw her eyes never lifting off from the book and he chuckled. As the platform started filling in, the atmosphere was quite glum. Theodore felt a slight tinge jealous when he saw several boys blatantly staring at Charlotte in lust. Her robes were low cut, showing off curves of her chest. She was so engrossed in the book, that she didn't notice the stares.

Charlotte was almost done with the book when she heard a quiet, "Charlie!" her brother was walking up towards her.

"David." She smiled and gave him a hug. Her mother and Luke followed behind him. After a short reunion with her family, she heard her best friend call out her name.

Padma Patil, was a little miffed at her best friend for not writing to her over the summer. Nevertheless, she believed that Charlotte had a good reason to do so.

Charlotte gave Padma a big hug and whispered in her ears, "I will explain everything tonight." Padma nodded. They both decided to go into the train and find a compartment to sit in. Charlotte said bye to her mother and promised her to stay safe this year.

Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, Lisa Turpin, Mandy Brocklehurst, and Michael Corner joined the pair. In the fourth year, Charlotte went to the Yule Ball with Terry and they dated for a little while, but broke it off before fifth year.

The seventh year Ravenclaws all began talking about their summers, when the bells chimed 11 o' clock. However the train didn't start moving and she heard chatter outside their compartments.

Ministry officials were in the aisles, opening compartments looking for muggleborn students.

Charlotte knew that her brother and her housemates would be fine as none of them were muggleborns, but she couldn't help but be worried.

The ministry official opened their door harshly and asked for everyone's names. He checked his lists and left. When the door was closed, everyone let out a breathe of relief. Finally after another ten minutes, the train begin to lurch forward.

She found out that Anthony and Padma were the seventh year prefects. After a few hours, Charlotte and Padma decided to change into their uniforms. They left the compartment and headed to the bathrooms.

Padma started giggling, "Did you notice the way Boot was staring at you? I reckon he fancies you."

Charlotte denied it, "No way. We broke up fourth year."

Padma shrugged, "Maybe he wants to date you again?"

She was about to retort when, they heard someone clearing their mouth behind them. It was Theodore and Blaise Zabini.

Blaise was a very handsome flirtatious man, "Excuse me ladies." They moved to the side while Theodore and Blaise passed through. Blaise kept his eyes on Charlotte and Padma and their cheeks turned pink.

Padma sighed after the boys left, "Zabini is soo cute, too bad he is in Slytherin." Charlotte nodded in agreement, they found the restrooms and went to change into their uniforms.

Theodore shared a compartment with the Slytherin boys; bored of the conversations between Crabbe and Goyle he left to stretch his legs. Zabini joined him, he saw Charlotte and one of the Patil girls talking. He heard the conversation about Boot and he was inwardly upset. He kept a stoic face, as he passed the girls.

When they were out of sight of the girls, Zabini spoke up. "That girl in red was a Thompson, right? Man, I didn't know she could look like that. She's hot and she is a pureblood, that's rare." Theodore didn't know what to say because he need to act indifferent, so he just nodded.

Why was he feeling so jealous? He was already married to her and he only knew her for two months. He didn't like her, she was more of a friend, right? It doesn't matter though, because they were stuck together for life.

 _Dinner, Great Hall_

The candles, which floated in the night sky ceilings, was not present this year. The hall was somber and depressing. Charlotte looked around and there were less students at school this year.

Headmaster Snape forbade the Sorting Hat from singing. The first year students immediately were sorted. She was happy that her brother was placed in Ravenclaw, it would be easier for her to keep an eye out for him.

Headmaster Snape introduced the new staff which included the Carrows twins. He mentioned there would be no Quidditch and no Hogsmeade trips. Students were not allowed to be out in the halls after curfew or they would be severely punished.

Dinner was a quiet affair, with only few conversations in progress. Everyone was nervous and scared to speak. After dinner, Charlotte went up to the Ravenclaw dorms and begin to change for sleeping.

Padma joined her on her curtained bed, after her prefect duties. Charlotte was not close with her other dorm mates, Lisa and Mandy. She and Padma were best friends, while the other two were best friends with each other.

Putting a silencing charm on the bed, she began to recount her entire summer to Padma. She told her about the wedding, Nott Manor, and the family curse.

Padma sat there in shook, "So you are married now?" she asked in disbelief.

Charlotte took off the spell on her hand and showed off her ring.

"Wow. How is he?" Padma was curious.

Charlotte blushed, "He is actually nice. His father is a very old fashioned." She didn't feel comfortable talking about Theodore with Padma.

Padma giggled and then became serious. She whispered, "I heard they are planning on reinstating the DA. Neville, Ginny, and Luna are leading it. So keep an eye on your coin."

Charlotte nodded and remembered back to her fifth year when they were in the DA with Harry Potter. This school year they would all have to be on guard the whole time.

Wishing her best friend a good night, Charlotte whispered _nox_ and closed her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

The next morning, while Charlotte was getting dressed, she felt her pocket burning. She pulled out her DA coin and read the message, _Stay low and observe_. She agreed with that strategy, it will no longer be easy to sneak around the castle, they needed to come up with a plan.

She had her first class, which was her NEWT level Herbology class, in the morning. Charlotte and Padma walked to the Great Hall for breakfast. They saw Amycus Carrow outside the doors with a parchment in his hand. He was looking for any missing students not present for breakfast. It was mandatory for all students to be there.

She saw David sitting with the other first year Ravenclaws and with a quick glance to the Slytherin Table, she spotted Theodore eating a bowl of oatmeal. She quickly looked away before anyone else could notice.

After breakfast, Padma and Charlotte went Herbology which not many seventh years were taking. She immediately saw that Neville had a bruised up face. Padma asked her sister what happened and Parvati recounted the story of how Neville refused to tell Amycus Carrow where Harry was and how he tortured Neville for ten minutes.

After the lessons, Charlotte quickly went up to Neville and pulled something out of her bag. It was healing salve. She quietly whispered, "Here, this should heal up your face. Share it with the other Gryffindors."

Neville studied her for a few seconds before accepting the salve. "Thank you."

Charlotte left the classroom and headed to her next class which was Charms. That class had more seventh year students and she saw Theodore sitting next to Blaise.

"Can I sit next to you?" a voice asked from her left. She looked up and saw Terry staring down at her.

"Of course." She smiled and felt a nudge from Padma who was sitting on her right. She turned to look at Padma and received a smirk from her. Charlotte just rolled her eyes and asked Terry how is summer was.

Meanwhile two rows behind the trio of Ravenclaws, sat Theodore, Blaise and Daphne Greengrass.

"Is there something between Boot and Thompson?" asked Blaise who was interested in Charlotte.

"They dated for a little bit, but Thompson ended it during fifth year." Daphne reported. She very much enjoyed gossiping and finding out secrets. She observed the pair before adding, "But it seems like Boot still fancies her."

"What do you know about her? Blaise asked Daphne.

Daphne, excited to share her knowledge, started to narrate, "She is a pureblood, my distant cousin actually. My father and her mother were cousins. I only seen her family few times at parties. Her father passed away couple years back. She has two younger brothers, one of them is a first year right now."

Blaise nodded and Theodore rolled his eyes discreetly. He already knew that about his wife. It looked like both Boot and Blaise were showing interest in Charlotte. He wondered what Charlotte would do if other men approached her. It was actually quite common for purebloods to cheat on their spouses as most of them didn't marry for love. However with their family oath being so powerful, it would be impossible for them to do anything that could affect their marriage. Like cheating, divorce, or killing one another. Scabior tried to rape Charlotte and even if Theodore didn't save her, the bond between them would have prevented Scabior eventually. Inwardly he knew that Charlotte was not that kind of person, even if they didn't have this family oath between them, he would like to believe that she wouldn't cheat on him.

After Professor Flitwick dismissed the class, everyone headed to the Great Hall for lunch. After lunch, all the seventh years had one more class for the day. It was a mandatory class that they were forced to take. Charlotte knew that Alecto Carrow was teaching that class and she was terrified about what was going to happen.

The seventh years dreaded their next class and went to the Muggle Studies classroom. Alecto was waiting standing in front with and evil smirk on her face. Next to her was a cage filled with rats.

When every student was reluctantly settled, she purred out, "Welcome to Muggle Studies. The Dark Lord insisted on adding this course to every students curriculum. By refusing this class, you are directly refusing the Dark Lord. Consequences will be dire."

Alecto started ranting off about how muggles were an inferior race and most of the students were shifting uncomfortably in their seats. Charlotte cringed about a story that Alecto was spouting about torturing a muggle and how weak they were.

In the middle of the lesson, Alecto said, "Repeat after me, _Muggles are filthy and inferior race, Mudbloods don't deserve the gift of magic_."

No one spoke, even the Slytherins. Alecto was telling them to say that muggle-born wizards and witches shouldn't have magic. Charlotte could see that Neville was about to lash out in anger.

"Oh? No one wants to obey?" Alecto tutted. She grabbed one of the rats from the cage and pointed her wand at it. It transformed into an middle aged man. "This is a muggle man."

"Please don't hurt me." The man begged with tears down his eyes.

"Avada Kedavra!" she screeched and the man fell down with his eyes lifeless.

The students gasped in fear and several of the girls started to cry. "I have this cage full of muggles to kill if you don't obey me." Alecto stated.

She grabbed another mouse and this time it was a young boy. "Now let's try this again, _Muggles are filthy and inferior race, Mudbloods don't deserve the gift of magic_."

The seventh years immediately repeated her words, in fear of another life being taken. "That's better, don't you think?" she purred.

With Alecto holding a young boy's life in her hands, the students were terrified of disobeying her. After the lesson and Charlotte and the others rushed out. One of the Hufflepuff girls fainted just outside the classroom. Ernie Macmillan and Neville carried her to the infirmary.

Seamus Finnegan whispered to Anthony Goldstein that he should warn the younger Ravenclaws not to disobey Alecto and tell them about the rats.

Fortunately for them they had Muggle Studies only once a week. Every year was required to take Muggle Studies. Defense Against the Dark Arts with Amycus Carrow was equally heinous, he was just as ruthless as his sister. He made the students practice curses on each other and animals.

One night, Charlotte fell asleep while studying the library. She woke up and realized that she was the only one in the library and it was just past midnight. She wasn't sure if she should try to go back to the dorms or just stay in the library. Students caught wandering after curfew were punished severely and had to stay in the infirmary for at least a day to recover.

She decided to try to go back to the dorms, it would be safer than staying in the library. Quietly she closed the library doors behind her and slowly walked in the corridors to the dorms. Suddenly she saw a shadow approaching from the right in front of her. She froze unsure what to do, while someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her into a closet.

The person who grabbed her had his hand over his mouth. They sat in complete silence until they heard footsteps walk away. When she heard nothing outside, she elbowed the guy covering her mouth.

He let out a grunt of pain and he muttered out "Charlotte it's me."

"Theodore?" she asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're helping the Carrows with patrols?" she begged.

"I don't have a choice Charlotte, but I haven't reported anyone I found." He tried to justify his actions.

Charlotte knew that Theodore was telling the truth, as a son of a death eater he would have no choice but to help the Carrows. She sighed, "Alright, just be careful."

"How are you doing? You haven't been hurt badly right?" he enquired.

"I'm fine, I've just been staying out of trouble. I'm also worried about David, I just wish he could have enjoyed his first year, instead of dealing with this war."

Theodore nodded agreeing, the younger years were too young to be pushed into this war. He suddenly remembered the thing that has been nagging him in the back of his mind. "Do you like Boot?" he blurted out.

"No!" she denied vehemently and blushed in embarrassment. "Why do you ask?" she wondered.

"Everyone knows that he still fancies you, so I was wondering if you returned his feelings.'

"He doesn't like me like that. We used to date for few months but we broke up about two years ago. I think of him as a friend."

Theodore listened to her explanation, Charlotte seemed to be a little naïve about Boot. However, it seems that she was telling the truth about just thinking of him as a friend.

"Wait. Did you think I was cheating on you?" she suddenly questioned frantically.

"No, no." he assured her. "Charlotte, the magic bond between our families won't allow any actions that would threaten our marriage. Although, you can still have feelings for another and I was curious if you liked Boot."

"Why would if matter if I liked Terry or not? It's not like I could have done anything about it."

He held her hand, "I know that we were forced into this, but in the future if you did find someone else, I will try my best to find a way out of this bond."

"Don't you dare!" she moved forward to hug him. The only way out of the bond is if someone killed him with a different intention. With the war going on, he might recklessly give up his life. "Don't do that!" she cried.

Theodore was shocked that she reacted this way.

She looked into his eyes, "Promise me that you will try to stay alive." He didn't say anything and she continued, "What if you find someone else, should I try to break the bond?" she asked.

"No!" he immediately protested.

"Exactly." She agreed, "I don't want you to die either." She looked up at him and smiled, "We will go through this marriage together."

Theodore overwhelmed, gently grabbed her face and brought his close to hers. Closing his eyes he asked, "May I kiss you?"

She responded by bringing her lips to his and kissed him. It first started off slow and tentative but then became more passionate. She pulled away when she lost her breath. "Wow, I liked that."

Theodore agreed, "Me too. Okay, we been in this closet for too long. I can help you get to your dorm."

The two of them walked carefully and quietly to the Ravenclaw dorms. Before she entered he stopped her, "Stay away from Blaise."

"What? Why?" she was confused.

"He is interested in you." He turned around and left before she could say anything else.

"Oh." She started blushing, Zabini was quite handsome, but had a reputation for being a playboy. She was surprised that he even noticed her in the first place.

Few days later, she got a message from her DA coin. _Meeting at midnight. Sixth and Seventh Years only_.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

Charlotte and Padma snuck down that night to the Room of Requirements. When they reached there they saw many of the sixth and seventh years. Charlotte noticed that there was only three Slytherins and one of them was Daphne Greengrass. Ginny, Luna, and Neville stood in the front watching everyone.

"Okay, thank you all for coming tonight." Neville's voice boomed across the room, effectively hushing the crowd.

Ginny stepped forward, looking haggard but determined. "We are effectively reinstating Dumbledore's Army as of tonight. We will start discussing strategies and intentions of this group. Any questions?"

"Yeah. Who made you guys in charge?" Michael Corner asked. He was still a little miffed at Ginny for ditching him fifth year.

Neville interrupted, "For starters, we have contact with the Order of Phoenix and we are the closet to Harry. Anyone else have problems?"

Luna clapped her hands, "I enjoy these meetings, they have a knack for drama."

Ginny cleared her throat, "Before we can start, everyone needs to sign this parchment if you are completely sure you are willing to fight with us."

"Is there another jinx on it?" Padma asked. She remembered Marietta Edgecombe's forehead after she outed the DA to Umbridge. Ginny nodded in confirmation, they could not afford to have a spy in their ranks.

After signing the papers, Seamus began talking about the patrols and patterns he noticed at night. "Amycus and Alecto don't patrol at the same time, but one of them is on patrol at all time. They recruited the seventh years boys to patrol as well. Crabbe and Goyle are idiots, so it will be easy to sneak by them. If you get caught, they are quite ruthless, so be careful either way. Malfoy seems to be a wild card, I heard they he didn't report a second year that he caught."

"Zabini and Nott are good too, they will not report you unless they have to." Daphne added.

Seamus turned to look at her and sneered "How can we trust you? You are a Slytherin."

She huffed, "Not all Slytherins are bad. I've known Blaise and Theodore since we were kids, they are not Death Eaters."

"She's right." Hannah Abbott agreed. "Zabini helped me get to my dorms when I left the infirmary after curfew." Few others students agreed with Hannah and they finished discussing strategies to sneak around without getting caught.

Neville began talking again, "Alright, our next order of business is freeing the muggle-turned-rats from Alecto."

Ginny announced their plan, "First we need to steal the current rats and replace them with actual rats. Then we have to bring them to McGonagall, who agreed to transform them back to Muggles. After, we actually need to help them escape from Hogwarts. The Order will escort them to an hospital and obliviate their memories."

All the students agreed with that plan, they couldn't bear to see anymore muggle deaths. They all huddled and discussed different approaches to save the muggles.

"Okay before we leave, is there any other concerns?" asked Neville.

Charlotte spoke up, "I think we should not involve the younger years, we should instead protect them." She was thinking about her brother David.

Ginny nodded, "I agree, I think we should only allow Fourth years and above to join the DA."

Everyone agreed, "Okay meeting is over for the night." Few students left at a time to not attract any attention on them.

Charlotte walked up to Neville while the others were leaving. "Hey Neville, I have a stock of salves and some healing potions. I can give them to students who are hurt."

Neville brightened with the news, "Yes, that is great." The Carrows were keeping a tight rein on hospital wing; they wanted the students to suffer in pain.

After a few minutes Padma and Charlotte left the Room of Requirement together.

Over the next few weeks Charlotte became busy. More and more students were getting tortured, especially after Alecto found out about that her rats were no longer Muggles. Charlotte discovered that Porky was able to apparate in and out of the castle as an house elf. She was able to get more healing supplies from Porky.

Injured students would come to her in the library to cease suspicion. She tried her best to help most students with her limited knowledge in healing. Charlotte spent most of her time reading healing and medicinal books to learn more. Soon she was known to most of the student body as a healer.

In the evening in late October, Charlotte found Neville hobbling down the corridor. She ran to him, "What's wrong?" she asked while supporting him.

"The Carrows," he choked out, "used Cruciatus..." he was struggling to speak. Charlotte made a quick decision and dragged his long body into an empty classroom.

She laid him onto a desk and pulled out her wand. She was about to incant the spell she found in the Nott's library, but hesitated. It worked on Theodore when he was suffering from the Cruciatus after effects, however it was a dark spell. Charlotte read up more about the spell and discovered that it takes up energy from the castor as well.

Neville kept withering on the table and she made up her mind. She incanted the spell and saw Neville slowly recovering. She felt an instant drain from her body. It was more severe than the last time she casted the spell, as she was more exhausted from the last few weeks.

In few minutes, Neville slowly regained his conscious. "What was that spell?" he wondered.

"I found it over the summer, however it is a dark spell, so I don't want to use it often." She answered.

Neville stared at her in amazement. "I feel much better now, thank you. Come on, I will take you to your dorm." The two of them silently left the classroom and walked to the Ravenclaws Tower.

The next day, Charlotte woke up feeling fatigued. Padma noticed at breakfast that she wasn't eating much and her eyes were out of focus. "Are you okay?" she asked her friend.

Charlotte snapped out of her stupor, "Huh? Oh yes, I was just thinking about something."

They walked to Charms, that they shared with the Slytherins, after breakfast. Professor Flitwick lectured for ten minutes, then stopped to allow the students to practice the spells. Charlotte stood up and immediately felt dizzy.

She lost conscious and fell down. "Charlotte!" Padma called out, she tried waking her friend. The students came and stood around her, wondering why she fainted. Theodore was worried, but he couldn't do anything in front of everyone.

"Professor!" Terry called out, "Can I take her to the infirmary?" he bent down. He was stopped by Zabini who appeared next to him.

"I will take her." Zabini said calmly.

"No way." Boot protested.

"Think about it. It would be better for her, if I was the one carrying her." Zabini reasoned. The Carrows would be okay with her entering the hospital wing, with Zabini. Boot was a half blood, while both Charlotte and Blaise were purebloods.

Boot couldn't argue with that point. Professor Flitwick spoke up, "Mr. Zabini, take Ms. Thompson to the infirmary and come right back."

Theodore watched as Blaise carefully lifted a pale Charlotte from the ground. He wished it could have been him carrying her and hoped that she was okay.

Blaise carried Charlotte out of the infirmary, they ran to Amycus who was patrolling. "Zabini what are you doing?" he demanded.

Zabini stoically answered, "Thompson fainted during Charms, I was going to take her to the infirmary." Amycus stared at her laying in Zabini's arms and he gave them permission to visit Madam Pompfrey.

Zabini took her to the hospital wing, where Madame Pompfrey was more than happy to treat her. It pained her to see so many students hurt, but she couldn't do anything for them. She heard that Charlotte was treating students instead and was proud of her.

Blaise left the infirmary and went back to the Charms classroom. When he came back, Padma immediately went to him, "Is she okay?" she asked. The rest of the class was also listening as they were curious.

"I don't know, she didn't wake up. I left her in the infirmary."

Theodore was not satisfied with that answer. He was going to try to visit her tonight.

Charlotte finally opened her eyes a few hours later and took in her surroundings. "Hello dear, are you feeling better?" Madam Pompfrey asked.

Charlotte realized that she was in a hospital bed, "Huh? What am I doing here?" she panicked.

"Calm down dear," the Matron placated, "you lost consciousness during Charms. Mr. Zabini carried you here."

Charlotte briefly remembered being in Charms and blushed when she imagined Blaise carrying her. "Am I okay?" she asked because she had fainted.

"Yes dear, it seems that you haven't been sleeping and eating properly. The lack of energy caused you to collapse. I gave you a Replenishing potion, you should be fully recovered by tomorrow."

"Oh, thank you." She felt much better now.

"No dear, thank you."

"Pardon?" Charlotte was confused.

Madam Pomfrey took Charlotte hand, "I've heard how you have been healing students in secret, that is very brave of you. I was devastated to learn that I can't treat them." Pomfrey pulled out a small book from her pocket and gave it to Charlotte. "These are a few of my notes, just in case you need them."

Then the door to the infirmary opened, a tiny head peaked out. "Charlie!" the boy yelled out. David came running towards her, "I was worried about you."

She gave her brother a hug, while Madam Pomfrey left them alone. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, I should be fine by tomorrow morning."

"There are rumors about you and Blaise Zabini," her brother teased, "some students saw him carrying you like a princess."

She blushed, "Stop it. You know there is nothing between us."

David ceased his laughing, "Right. About Nott, he isn't that bad of a bloke."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow, David never said anything positive about Theodore. "Oh?" she gently asked.

"Yeah, one of my mate was lost few nights back and Nott helped him back to the dorms."

Charlotte smiled at that piece of information. She was glad her husband wasn't a bad person, regardless of his upbringing. The two siblings talked for an hour and soon it was almost curfew. She waved her brother bye and warned him, "Be careful."

Madam Pomfrey went to her personal chambers and told Charlotte to call for her if needed.

Charlotte was utterly bored, she didn't even have any books to read cause her bag was left behind in the classroom.

"How are you doing?" a voice asked out of nowhere, which startled Charlotte.

"Theodore?" she thought she recognized the voice somewhere. She watched as he took the disillusionment charm off himself. "What are you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow, "I was worried about you." He leaned down and gave her a quick peck on her lips.

She smiled, "I am doing better now, Theodore."

"Theo."

"What?" she questioned.

"Call me Theo."

"Theo," she tested the name out, "hmm okay then."

"Can I call you Charlie?" he heard her brother calling her that. She nodded and smiled. "Charlie…" he tried out.

She cringed, the nickname sounded awkward coming out of his mouth.

"Lottie?" he tried.

"Uhh…?" she shuddered slightly.

"Gwen?" he offered.

"Ugh, definitely not!" she protested.

"What? Why? It's a pretty name."

"I hate my middle name. My grandmother insisted I originally be named Gwendolyn, but my mother shortened it to Gwen."

"Gwen," he tested out again, "I like it." He laughed at the face she made.

She pouted, "Fine."

Theodore's face became serious, "I heard that you have been healing some students."

"Yes, I've been having Porky bring me few potions and salves." She wondered how Theodore found out, she hoped that the Carrows wouldn't find out.

"That," he was interrupted by the sound of a door opening. He quickly moved away and cast a disillusionment on himself.

Charlotte looked in the direction of the door and saw Neville sneaking in. She smiled, " Hello, Neville."

"Hey," he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, "I heard what happened to you in Charms. I hope it wasn't my fault."

"What do you mean?" she was confused.

"That spell you used on me last night, it was dark magic right? I thought it affected you, so I was concerned."

"Well, the spell took some energy from me, but I think I fainted because I wasn't in perfect health when I performed the spell. I was tired from all the work in the past few weeks."

"So you are fine now?" Neville asked.

"Yes, I just need to get some sleep and rest." She let out a yawn and smiled.

Neville took the hint and left the room, after thanking her. Theodore reappeared with a frown. "I don't want you to continue healing and I forbid you from using that spell."

Charlotte boiled up, "You _forbid_ me? How dare you?" she blurted out.

Theodore realized that he used the wrong words, "I don't want you to risk your health, look at you now. What if the Carrows find out?" he reasoned.

"I will not stop, I discovered I love healing. I'm going to continue at school, because after we graduate, there is no way your father is going to allow me to be a Healer. Please let me do what I love for this small period of time."

"But.." he tried to talk, but was interrupted.

"Please leave me." Charlotte turned around with tears in her eyes. She heard him sigh and leave the room. She starting sobbing as her thoughts came pouring in. The exhaustion of the school year and the thought of her life after graduation made her miserable. She had finally discovered what she was passionate about and she wouldn't be allowed to pursue it. In her misery, fatigue took over and she fell asleep.

The next morning, Charlotte realized that she woke up late and breakfast was about to start. She washed her face in a basin and tried her best to fix her uniform that she slept in. After thanking Madam Pomfrey, she rushed to the Great Hall.

As she entered the Great Hall, she noticed that lot of eyes were on her, as they heard about her fainting and Blaise carrying her.

She walked to Padma at the Ravenclaw table and took a seat next her. Padma spoke up, "Sorry I wasn't able to visit you. I brought your bag for you."

"Thank you," Charlotte smiled, "I am feeling much better now." She felt a sudden pang of hunger and piled up her plate with food.

She was visited by Professor Flitwick, the head of the Ravenclaw House, who made sure she was feeling better. After breakfast, she tried to calculate if she would have enough time to go to her dorms before her Potions class.

Sighing, she realized that she would not have the time, she transfigured quill into a ribbon. She pulled all her hair to one side and started braiding it. Her hands absent-mindedly braided as she talked to Anthony Goldstein who was sitting across from her.

Theodore subtly watched his wife enter the Great Hall. Her long golden hair was loose and fluttering around her. He noticed that there was more color to her face and she looked more healthier.

He saw Blaise and other boys watching her at breakfast. Especially when she started braiding her hair, Theodore watched every strand get weaved by her delicate hands.

"I think I'm going to make my move on Thompson soon." Blaise announced.

"There is too much shit going on right now and all you can think of is flirting?" Draco growled out. Theodore looked at Draco in surprise, he didn't realize he was listening to the conversation.

Malfoy had been quiet and somber for weeks. Theodore could tell that his friend had nightmares at night. Draco was being forced into being a Death Eater, the Dark Lord threatened his family.

"Come on Draco, we probably going to die soon, so might as well get some." Blaise teased, while making obscene gestures with his hands.

Theodore lost control, he couldn't stand Blaise making vulgar comments about Charlotte. Before he could stop himself, his fist went flying into Blaise's perfectly handsome face. The Great Hall went silent.

His house mates looked at him in shock and he grabbed his bag and walked away. As he reached the doors, he heard Amycus Carrow call out "Detention, Nott."

Charlotte watched in silence as she saw Theodore walk out of the Great Hall. She wondered what happened to him and feared for his detention.

* * *

AN: Next chapter Charlotte goes back to Nott manor for Christmas Holiday. Please Review.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The next day, Charlotte had NEWT level Potions with the other seventh years who chose to take the class. She took her seat next to Padma. One by one the students came, suddenly the room went quiet as Theodore walked in.

Charlotte let out a quiet gasp as she saw his face. There was a severe gash on the side of his forehead and his left eye looked swollen. He entered the room with a slight limp. It looked like Amycus Carrow didn't give any special treatment to Theodore and punished him harshly.

Normally Theodore and Blaise were partners for Potions, but after the altercation yesterday, the two were ignoring each other. He slid into the seat next to Draco before Daphne could sit, "Beat it, Greengrass." Draco looked a little surprised that Theodore was sitting next to him, but didn't protest it.

She looked annoyed and hissed, "Ass." Then she moved to the empty seat next to Zabini. Professor Slughorn walked in and began the lesson.

During the lesson, Charlotte found herself distracted. Even Padma would have to nudge her to pay attention, as her thoughts kept drifting. She wondered what happened during the detention and if Theodore had any more injuries.

After Professor Slughorn finished the lesson, Charlotte slipped a note discretely to Theodore. _Meet me in the library at midnight._

That night Charlotte sneaked into the library and waited for Theodore. She ran to him once she saw him entering. She hugged him, but he winced in pain. "What happened?"

"Carrow found out that I've been slacking on my patrols."

She made him sit on a table and she pulled out her medicinal bag. She checked his injuries and blushed when Theodore pulled his shirt off. The only other time she saw him shirtless was on their wedding night.

Charlotte avoided his gaze as she gently felt his chest. Theodore smirked inwardly at her red face. She didn't have the knowledge or training on how to heal bones, so she applied healing salve on all his bruises. Then she wrapped his ankle and ribs with bandages, the bones would have to heal the normal way.

She finally reached his face and placed her fingers gently on his split lip, she was about to put salve, but he grabbed her hand. "Don't. Carrow will be suspicious if my face looks healed."

Theodore pulled her hand, bringing her face an inch away from his. He slowly leaned and gave her a soft kiss. Charlotte responded more eagerly and soon the kiss become more passionate.

Suddenly he stood up from the table and lifted her around to switch their positions. She was now sitting on the desk.

Charlotte pushed him away, "Wait, I forgot to ask you. Why did you punch Zabini?"

"It's nothing important, he just said something stupid." He dismissed, eager to continue their snogging session.

She was adamant and pulled away from his grasp. "No, tell me the reason now."

He sighed, "He was talking about bedding you as a conquest. So I got angry and punched him." Theodore stared at Charlotte for her reaction.

Charlotte stared at him with a lack of expression on her face. Finally she said, "While, I appreciate you protecting my honor, you still shouldn't have punched him. He is a good friend of yours." Theodore looked away ashamed, but she grabbed his face and brought it close to hers. "Although, I can't help feeling pleased." She whispered, as she resumed their kissing.

After a few moments, Theodore hands gently caressed her upper thighs, finding their way under her skirt. His lips left hers and he slowly began nibbling her neck. Her hands traced the muscles of his bare back.

"What are you doing?" a stern voice on their right demanded. Charlotte gasped and stood up immediately.

Headmaster Snape stood in front of them with his bloodshot and bleary eyes. Theodore was still shirtless and Charlotte's skirt was hiked up to an indecent length.

"Uh Headmaster Snape, Charlotte was just putting on bandages for me." He tried to explain, while Charlotte fixed her skirt.

"I know what I saw." Snape snarled out. "Just because the two of you are married, doesn't mean the school rules don't apply to the both of you."

"Sorry Headmaster…" Charlotte tried to speak up.

Snape interrupted her, "Detention, tomorrow." He turned around and left the library abruptly.

"That was humiliating!" Charlotte cried out.

Theodore shrugged, "It could have been worse." While he was putting his shirt, she packed up her bag. Before she left, he called out, "See you tomorrow, in detention."

The next night, Charlotte and Theodore followed Snape down to the dungeons. "For your detention today, you each will be making 5 batches of Dreamless Sleep Potion."

Charlotte groaned inwardly, the Dreamless Sleep Potion took a long time and was very complex. Making five portions would take a long time. Snape went to the desk and sat down. Charlotte and Theodore got the supplies and pulled out the cauldron. Charlotte found an old textbook and opened the section with the Dreamless Sleep Potion instructions.

While Charlotte and Theodore were mixing the potion, Snape was looking over documents and reading. Five hours later, they finished 10 batches of the potion. Charlotte went and presented Snape with 10 vials of Dreamless Sleep Potion.

Snape snapped his book shut and cryptically said, "Keep it. Use it sparingly." He left the room in a rush. Charlotte was stunned, Snape gave her the potion to give to other students. He must have known about her helping the other students.

Mid December

December crept upon them quickly and soon it was time to go back for the Christmas holidays. No student wanted to stay at school for the winter break with the Carrows. The train ride back was tense and everyone was on edge.

Charlotte held hands with Padma as they journeyed to King Cross Station. She let out a breathe of relief once the train stopped at the train station. She saw her brother talking to a friend near her, she looked around for her mother. Her mother was supposed to meet David at the station and take him home.

Suddenly, black wisps of smoke entered the station and transformed into death eaters. People started screaming and running away. Few seconds later, Aurors showed up as well.

Charlotte grabbed David's hand and started running. She sent several spells to defend themselves. She saw her mother on the other side of the station, "Go!" she screamed. Jane understood and apparated from the station.

Theodore showed up with Wheezy and Porky. In a matter of seconds, they apparated to Nott Manor. Charlotte asked, "Are you okay?" to her brother. He had a cut on his eyebrow, but he was fine otherwise. Wheezy appeared next, with three trunks that they left behind at the station.

Charlotte suddenly winced as she tried to walk towards Theodore. Her left knee had a huge gash and there was blood started to drip down. "Charlie!" he brother cried out.

"No, I'm okay." She tried to smile, while blinking back tears. Her brother and Theodore was not convinced. However, before they could do anything, Mr. Nott appeared in his death eater garb. He was extremely irritated, "What are you loitering around here for? Clean up and meet me in the study in one hour." he bellowed. He briskly left to enter the manor with Wheezy following behind.

Charlotte sighed, "David, I will be fine. Go to mom and Luke." She gave her brother a hug and ordered Porky to take David to her mother.

Theodore helped Charlotte inside; he insisted on looking at her knee, but she assured him that she was fine. In the shower, Charlotte braced herself for the next few weeks.

She put a salve on her knee and wore dark blue dress robes. She took off the concealment charm on her ring and tied her hair in a simple bun. She limped as gracefully as she could to Mr. Nott's study. She had Porky bring a tea tray along. Theodore was already sitting on a chair, facing his father.

Charlotte sat on a chair next to Theodore. Mr. Nott looked haggard and tensed. He had one hand massaging his forehead. She quietly mixed the tea and served the tea to Mr. Nott. He drank it and finally spoke. "The Dark Lord is not pleased. I heard things from Alecto Carrow; Theodore I am disappointed." He sighed, "Charlotte, we will have guests coming on Christmas Eve, prepare the manor. You are dismissed."

She was reluctant to leave, she knew that Theodore was going to be punished by Mr. Nott. She looked at Theodore once more, before closing the door.

That night the manor was eerily quiet, Charlotte was coming back from the kitchens to her bedroom. Her curiosity took over and she went to Theodore's room. The door was unlocked and she saw him sitting on the bed staring at the wall in front of him.

Rushing towards him, she checked him for any injuries. He seemed unharmed, except his eyes were cold. "Are you okay?" she asked.

He looked at her with lifeless eyes, "I killed someone today."

Charlotte let out a gasp.

He sobbed, "It was a little boy. I didn't want to, but my father made me. He said I was an embarrassment. I had no choice." Theodore cried and hugged her tightly.

Charlotte was speechless, Theodore was now a murderer. She was married to a murderer. Deep down, she knew that by marrying into this family she would be exposed to Death Eaters and dark magic. However, she believed that Theodore was truly a good person and his guilt was real. She could not find any words to say. She comforted him the only way she knew how.

She kissed him to calm him down and he responded hesitantly. Pushing his back on to the bed, she straddled him and kissed him fervently. She pulled away and laid down next to him.

Theodore looked into her eyes, "He threatened that he would hurt you and that is the only reason I did it."

Charlotte teared up, it was her. She was the one who made him into a murderer. "I'm sorry." she cried. Theodore wrapped his arms around her and rocked her gently till they both fell asleep.

The next few days, Charlotte prepared the manor for Christmas Eve. Mr. Nott informed her that the Malfoys would be coming. She was told that she needed to prepare for five guests. Other than Draco, Narcissa, and Lucius, she wondered who the other two guests were. She was hoping it wouldn't be Bellatrix Lestrange, the stories she heard were terrifying.

Christmas Eve

Charlotte stood near the entrance of the manor with Mr. Nott and Theodore. She was wearing a shimmering beige dress with gold sparkles. She tied her hair up elegantly, wore red lipstick and applied gold glitter lightly on her eyelids.

Mr, Nott sneered when he saw her, "You look like a whore." He gestured to her eyes.

Charlotte was hurt, she thought she looked nice, "I can go take if off."

"No, she looks beautiful father." Theodore defended making her blush. Mr. Nott was going to respond, but was stopped by house-elf who informed them that the Malfoys arrived outside.

Theodore opened the door and invited the Malfoys in. The guest party consisted of the Malfoys, Bellatrix and Blaise Zabini.

Blaise looked surprised to see Charlotte in the Nott home. "What is she doing here?" he wondered in shock. Draco and his family looked at her as well.

She was embarrassed by all the attention, but cleared her throat, "Hello, I am Theodore's wife, Charlotte Nott. Welcome to Nott Manor."

"Is she a pureblood?" Lucius asked Mr. Nott.

Mr. Nott scoffed, "Of course she is, her father was a Thompson and her mother was a Greengrass."

Lucius finally looked at her with interest. Charlotte hated that Mr. Malfoy was judging her based on her blood status. Narcissa looked at her with kindness, but Bellatrix had a maniac expression on her face.

Blaise was still confused, "You're fucking married?" he asked in disbelief. Draco looked at her and Theodore, with a frown on his face.

"Zabini, mind your manners." Mr. Nott reprimanded him. Blaise looked like he wanted to protest, but kept mum.

"Shall we head on to the dining room?" Charlotte tried to diffuse the tension. The evening was off to an awkward start.

The group settled in their chairs at the table. As usual Mr. Nott sat at the head, with Theodore on the right and Charlotte next to him. Lucius at on Mr. Nott's left with Narcissa next to him. Bellatrix was beside her sister. Draco sat next to Charlotte, while Blaise sat at the end of the table.

Charlotte told one of the house-elf to start bringing the appetizers. Breaking the silence, Bellatrix cackled, "When this _lovely_ union happen?" she asked pointing at the young couple.

"This summer," Mr. Nott lied, "Hector and I arranged it before he passed." Hector Thompson was Charlotte's grandfather and was a respected pureblood wizard. Lucius was impressed with that information.

Narcissa smiled at her, "I noticed that the gardens looks wonderful. Was that you dear?" she asked Charlotte.

"Yes, my mother taught me how to garden."

"What house are you in, _dear_?" Bellatrix interrupted.

"Ravenclaw."

Bellatrix tutted, "Pity."

Mr. Nott changed the conversation to some business talk. While the four older adults talked, the four younger students ate in silence. Charlotte noticed that Blaise was staring at her discretely.

When the house-elves came in again to switch the plates for the main course, Narcissa spoke to her again. "Is that your natural hair color?" she asked her.

"Yes?" she was confused with that random question.

Narcissa placated her, "I mean no offense, your hair color is quite beautiful."

Blaise piped up, "Charlotte has the longest hair in our year." Everyone looked at him surprised by his sudden comment. He smiled flirtatiously at Charlotte. Theodore gripped his fork tightly and Charlotte put her hand on his knee trying to calm him down.

Bellatrix, once again giggled heinously, "Her hair coloring is close to Draco's. They could have made wonderful blond Malfoys together."

Draco choked on his food, while Charlotte blushed heavily.

"Bella!" Narcissa hissed.

The former crazed prisoner smiled heinously, "I was only jesting Cissy."

Luckily the rest of the dinner went without any more awkward conversation. After the dessert, the adults dismissed the teens. The four students walked in silence to one of sitting rooms.

Once they entered, Blaise pushed Theodore roughly "Am I fucking joke to you?!" he yelled.

Theodore who was on the ground looked up to him, "What are you talking about?" he asked back getting angry.

Charlotte tried to step in, but Draco stopped her. Theodore got up from the ground.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Blaise pointed to Charlotte.

"Oh that." Theodore let out a shit-eating grin, "You jealous?" he bragged.

Blaise punched Theodore in the shoulder, "You bastard."

Theodore looked back, "I'm sorry for not telling you."

Blaise finally calmed down, "What the hell Theo? I thought we were best mates."

"Charlotte and I agreed that we wouldn't tell anyone, before the term started."

"Actually I told Padma." Charlotte admitted guiltily.

Blaise raised his hands up in exasperation, "See!" he gestured widely to Charlotte.

Theodore held his injured shoulder, "Fine, I apologize mate. It wasn't easy for me to keep the secret as well." He held out his hand to Blaise to apologize.

Blaise looked at his friends hand for a moment before accepting it with a smile. Finally the four settled on some couches.

Blaise asked Theodore and Charlotte questions and soon the conversation moved towards school and the events of the past term. Draco announced that Luna Lovegood was in his cellar. Charlotte was disgusted, but tried to keep a poker face.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Narcissa entered, "Charlotte will you accompany me to the gardens?" she asked.

Charlotte requested a cloak from Porky and soon she walked with Narcissa outside the manor. Narcissa began asking questions about her mother and marriage. She started to talk about how she met Lucius in Hogwarts and fancied him from the start.

Charlotte wondered why Narcissa was telling her all this, but as the older woman droned on, she noticed that her hands were shaking. Charlotte realized that Mrs. Malfoy was scared and tired, she was trying to distract herself by talking.

Charlotte took Narcissa's hand, "Would you like some tea?" she asked with a smile. She lead Narcissa back inside to the drawing room where the other adults were.

She made tea for them and was praised by Narcissa and Lucius. Bellatrix simply took Charlotte's left arm and stroked it, "What a lovely arm," she cooed, "it will look more beautiful with the Dark Lord's mark on it, don't you think?" she suggested.

Charlotte stilled, while Narcissa's face became pale. Luckily Mr. Nott came to her rescue, he laughed, "Don't be silly, she doesn't have the talent."

Bellatrix stared at her, "Is that so?" she feigned disappointment. Charlotte excused herself from the room. She walked down the hallway, trying to slow her heartbeat.

This entire evening has been exhausting, all she wanted was to relax. Suddenly she had an idea, she snuck into her room and opened her trunk. She pulled out a gift that Anthony Goldstein gave her when she healed his younger brother.

She snuck it down to the study where the three boys were. She entered and showed what she had. It was a full bottle of, _Ogden's Fire Whiskey._ Blaise gave a thumbs up when he saw the alcohol.

She had Porky bring 4 shot glasses. "I've never had this." She admitted as she gave the bottle to Theodore. They all stared at her in disbelief.

Blaise then stated, "Well, let today be the first!" he raised his shot in the air and downed it in seconds. Charlotte tried to do the same, but choked on the alcoholic drink.

Theodore laughed at her while she pouted back. She had Porky bring them games. They played exploding snap while telling her stories of their childhood. She laughed at Draco's first pet which was peacock. Blaise told her that Theodore cried on their first flying lesson at age 5. Slowly the alcoholic drink was being consumed, as the night went on.

Soon all four of them were drunk and giggly. The clock in the room chimed twelve times to indicate midnight. Charlotte took Theodore's face in her hands and looked at him with half lidded eyes, "Merry Christmas Theo." She kissed him on the lips for a few seconds before passing out on his shoulder.

"Merry Christmas _Theo_." Mocked Draco as Blaise made kissing sounds.

Theodore blushed, "Sod off."

Even though the three boys tried hard to stay awake, sleep took over. An hour later, Narcissa and Lucius came in to fetch the teens.

Narcissa cooed at the sight in front of her. Draco and Blaise were sleeping in their own couches, while Charlotte was cuddled next to Theodore. Lucius saw the fire whiskey and groaned, they were drunk! He was about to wake them, but Narcissa stopped him, "Let them be, it's Christmas."

Lucius sighed, as Narcissa had Wheezy bring blankets. After she placed a blanket on each sleeping body, they both left the room. They convinced Mr. Nott to allow the two boys to stay over.

That night, Draco was able to sleep without any nightmares, because he felt safe.

 **AN** : **Oh dear, that was quite a long chapter. Snape was trying to help discretely. Bellatrix is her crazy self. Luna is the Malfoy's cellar. Narcissa is showing her maternal side. Blaise and Theodore made up. However, it might be hard for Blaise to forget Charlotte. I don't know if wizards even celebrate Christmas as it "muggle" holiday. But the Weasleys' celebrate it! Please review :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Young Master Nott! Master Nott!" a screechy voice yelled.

Theodore winced at the loud noise and woke up. He saw Wheezy standing in front of him. He rubbed his eyes and remembered the previous night events.

Draco, Blaise, and Charlotte started to wake up as well. Charlotte's hair fell out of the elaborate style she had and looked disheveled.

"What happened last night?" she yawned. Draco groaned in pain because of a massive hangover.

"Master Nott requires your presence in the dining room immediately." Wheezy announced to the four.

"Ugh, what does the old man want now?" Blaise asked.

The four slowly made their way out of the room and to the dining room. Mr. Nott was sitting at the head of the table with a cup of tea and the Daily Prophet in his hand. "I trust you four had a riveting night?" he drawled.

They all looked at the older man shame faced. It was clear that Mr. Nott was displeased with their behavior. He was very old fashioned, so he thought that getting drunk at a gathering was quite uncouth.

He was about to dive into a lecture about their unacceptable manners, when Charlotte exclaimed, "My Lord! I have something for you."

She gestured to Porky and the elf disappeared and came back with a long package. She presented it to Mr. Nott. "This was one of my grandfather's prized possession."

Mr. Nott was curious and opened it. It was sword with jewels encrusted on the helm. "This is the sword of one of King Arthur's knights from the 6th century." Charlotte informed her father-in-law. The other three boys had their jaws wide open, they grew up hearing stories of Merlin and Camelot.

"This is a great gift. Thank you, Charlotte." Mr. Nott gestured to Wheezy and the elf came back with a box. Mr. Nott turned to the two guests, "Eat your breakfast and leave." The older man left the room with his new sword.

Blaise was impressed, "Wow, you got him to leave."

Wheezy came forward and presented Charlotte with a box. "Mr. Nott gifts this to you." She opened and saw necklace with rubies. She was about to say something, when she suddenly felt nauseous. She ran to the corner of the room and threw up in a vase.

Seeing Charlotte sick up, made Draco feel sick and in turn he threw up as well. Theodore sighed, "Porky, go get four vials of hangover potion."

After the four gulped the vile tasting potion, they finally felt some relief. They sat on the dining table while the elves served breakfast.

Draco spoke up, "I didn't know your family had a sword like that." He looked at Charlotte with approval.

Charlotte nodded, "Yes, my grandfather would always show me the sword every time I came to visit.

Theodore looked at her, "Why would you give such an important gift to my father?" he asked.

"David prefers books and games, my other brother Luke would probably hurt himself with that sword. I prefer that sword go to someone who will appreciate it."

Blaise interjected, "Don't worry Theo. It won't be long till you inherit it." He was suggesting that Mr. Nott will die soon.

"Zabini." Charlotte hissed in irritation. That was not a nice thing to say.

Blaise raised his hands in defense. He took a bite out of his egg, "What did the old man give you anyways?" he didn't see the contents of the box.

Charlotte took out the necklace and held it against her neck, "He gave me this."

Theodore stared at the necklace with recognition, "That used to belong to my mother."

She immediately put the necklace back in the box, "Oh, I am sorry."

"Why?" Theodore asked.

"I thought it would bring up some memories." Everyone knew what happened with the previous Mrs. Nott. She married Mr. Nott, who was almost three times her age, at seventeen. She suffered from multiple miscarriages and when she finally gave birth to Theodore, her body became so frail, she could barely get out of bed. She lived long enough to see Theodore turn five, before her body finally gave up and passed away in her sleep.

"No, you should wear it." Theodore took the box from the table and gave it to her.

Charlotte simply smiled and thanked him. The four of them returned to eating their meal and Draco and Blaise left through the floo.

After their guests left, Charlotte finally took a bath and washed her make up stained face. She stared at the necklace she got from Mr. Nott and wondered why he gave her his wife's old necklace. She rushed to get dressed so she could make tea for Mr. Nott.

While she was pouring the tea, Mr. Nott studied her. "Did you open your gift?"

"Yes, it is a very beautiful necklace. Thank you for gifting it to me."

Mr. Nott stared at her before continuing, "I will die soon," he held a hand to stop Charlotte's protest, "I know I will die soon, all I ask you to take care of my son and the Nott name."

There was so many things Charlotte wanted to say but all she could say was, "Yes sir, I will try my best." It seemed that Mr. Nott thought the Dark Lord would be defeated.

After finishing his tea, Mr. Nott dismissed her, "If you wish to, you may go visit your family."

Charlotte beamed, "Thank you."

She immediately went to find and Theodore and invited him to come visit her mother and brothers. Porky helped them take gifts and go to the Thompson's safe house. Her mother was delighted and surprised to see her daughter there. Her brothers were excited for their gifts as well. Theodore and Charlotte spent the entire day there before heading back to the manor.

 _Fey Days Later_

Charlotte was in the library enjoying her afternoon. Suddenly, Porky appeared, even more terrified than normal. "Master Nott request your presence in dining room." The timid house-elf held out her hand and they apparated.

She found herself in the dining room and immediately gasped. Sitting in the chairs was Mr. Nott, Bellatrix, Lucius, Scabior, and Voldemort himself. There were other Death Eaters, but it looked like it was a relatively small meeting.

However, Charlotte was frozen in fear. Mr. Nott gestured to her to come to him, "My Lord, this is my daughter-in-law, Charlotte Nott." She slowly walked towards Voldemort and gave him a proper bow.

"Ah, Bellatrix told me all about you." Voldemort hissed as he studied her. "A little pureblood Ravenclaw."

"Yes, my lord." She uttered without trying to sound like a wuss.

"Tell me dear, are you going to join our cause?" he questioned.

"My lord, I fully believe and support your cause, but I am not strong enough." She prayed and hope that this was a good enough answer.

Voldemort studied her, "Hmm." Suddenly without any warning, he probed into her memories using the Legillimency spell. Luckily for Charlotte, her Grandfather trained her to be an Occulumens at a young age. That summer was not pleasant one, as her grandfather was relentless in his teaching.

Charlotte pushed memories of her pureblood training with her grandparents, her marriage with Theodore, living in the Nott Manor, and random moments of school from previous years to the forefront of her brain.

When Voldemort was satisfied with his intrusion. He motioned for her to sit at the empty chair. He then continued on with his meeting with followers. Charlotte tried her best not to cry, she was terrified. However, she paid close attention to the details of future plans.

After the meeting, he motioned for her to come towards him.

"Aren't you excited my dear," he brought his hand to her stomach, "that your future children will live in a glorious world? A world where magic will rule over the inferior species."

"Yes, my lord." Charlotte gave a weak smile.

"Excellent." He turned to the crazed woman next to him, "Bellatrix, show her what happens should she decide to betray me."

Without warning Bellatrix yelled out, "Crucio!"

Charlotte let out a blood curling scream and fell to her knees. As she heard Bellatrix repeating the curse multiple times, her consciousness slowly faded away. Before she fully lost her consciousness, she heard Voldemort utter, "It seems she was correct, she is certainly weak."

When Charlotte woke up, she found herself in her room. The memories with the Dark Lord came pouring in and she started breathing heavily trying to calm herself down. She heard the door open and Theodore came in.

He lit up when he saw her, "You are finally awake."

"How long was I out?" she enquired quietly.

"A whole day. Porky brought you here and cleaned you up." Theodore climbed into bed with her and tried to grab her hand, but she took it out of her grasp.

"And where were you?" she coldly asked.

He looked at her guilty, "I was on a raid," her eyes widened and he quickly corrected, "but I was only a lookout."

Charlotte stared at the wall for a few moments before asking, "Do you have the dark mark?"

Theodore sighed, "Not yet, but I think I will after the school year ends. I have no choice. Draco already got his."

"I am still tired, please leave." She faked a yawn and turned around.

"But," he tried to argue.

"Leave now." She begged and tried to keep her voice from quivering. As soon as she heard the door shut, she let out a sob. She cried at her weakness, she spent months with the DA learning defensive spells. She even learnt from the famous Harry Potter fifth year, but when she was in front of Voldemort, she completely froze up.

Inwardly, she knew it was best she didn't try to fight back especially in front of the Dark Lord. She cried even harder thinking about what he said about her future children living in an ideal world. She thought about Theodore eventually becoming a Death Eater. She then realized there was a high chance that she would be forced to be a Death Eater.

Charlotte thought about all of this before she fell into a deep sleep.

 **AN:** Oh dear, its been months since I've updated. But I got my motivation back so I promise my next chapter will be up soon. Next chapter we will be back in Hogwarts. Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Charlotte spent the last few days leading to their return to Hogwarts in a daze. Mr. Nott didn't say anything to her and she avoided Theodore.

The evening before they were due at Hogwarts, Mr. Nott called her into his study.

Mr. Nott was sitting at his desk, "Take a seat." Charlotte sat in a chair opposite to him.

"The Nott family is loyal to the Dark Lord. Since you are now part of the Nott family, you are expected to do your duty to the Dark Lord."

"But sir, I don't want to follow him. He is a ruthless killer and.."

Mr. Nott slammed his hands on the table, "You don't have a choice in the matter!" He paused before continuing, "You know what will happen if you refuse the Dark Lord. He will hurt your mother and brothers and even Theodore." His hands were visibly shaking.

Charlotte whispered, "Do you really think he will win?" She was surprised to see show some compassion towards his son.

Mr. Nott sighed, "What I think is irrelevant. Listen to the Carrows and Snape at school." He left the office in a huff.

Charlotte thought about Mrs. Malfoy and Draco, they were both scared. They probably didn't have a choice about the things they have to do. After seeing Mr. Nott's reaction today, perhaps the same thing applied to him as well.

She slowly walked back to her rooms, but instead of entering she walked to the door adjacent and knocked. Theodore opened the door with bloodshot eyes, "Charlotte," he was surprised to see her, "is everything alright?"

"Can I come in?", she walked in as he simply nodded. She sat on his bed and looked at him, "I'm sorry I have been ignoring you. I just needed some time, I know things aren't easy for you too and hpmh-" she was interrupted by Theodore putting his finger to her lips.

"You don't need to apologize, I know how hard this whole situation must be on you." He grabbed her hand while taking a seat next to her. "It is hard on me too, but know this, I will try my best to protect you."

"I will try my best to protect you too." Charlotte smiled back at him. She got up from the bed.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" he asked.

She smiled and climbed back into his bed. They cuddled and slept comfortably for the rest of the night.

 _Next Day_

Charlotte was walking distractedly along the aisle of Hogwarts Express. She was trying to find her brother, she didn't seem him at the station. She bumped into Neville Longbottom.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She noticed his even more haggard expression. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

Neville sighed and pulled her into empty compartment. He looked around before speaking, "Luna was taken by the death eaters when they attacked the station. We don't know where she is or if she is even alive. Seamus said he stopped hearing from Dean Thomas, who was in hiding, and he is a muggleborn."

Charlotte bit her lip, before blurting out, "Luna is alive, she is in Malfoy Manor."

Neville raised an eyebrow, "How do you know that?"

"I'm sorry I can't tell you. Don't tell anyone I told you this."

He looked at her strangly before replying, "Okay, thank you. Do you want to join us at our compartment?" he asked.

She shook her head, "Thank you, but I need to find my brother." She left the compartment and walked down the train, trying to find David. After some time, she gave up and found Padma and sat the rest of the Ravenclaws in her year.

When all the students assembled in the Great Hall for dinner, she was relieved to find her brother sitting with his friends. She waved at him and he smiled back. It looks like her family was alright.

Headmaster Snape announced even more restrictions and more patrols. Owls were going to be more regulated. Any news of Harry Potter was to be reported to the Carrows.

 _Few Weeks Later_

The DA seemed to lay low, so Charlotte had fewer injuries to tend to. The Carrows allowed some students to go to Madam Pompfrey.

Charlotte was sitting in the Ravenclaw's common room reading when David came up to her.

"Charlie, come quick! I need your help." He led her to the first year boys dorm. Girls were allowed to walk up the stairs to the boys' dorms.

David led her to his friend's bunk and pulled the curtain. There was a boy clutching his hand in pain, he looked up in alarm, "David! I told you not to tell anyone!"

"No, it's okay. This is my sister." David gestured to Charlotte. "Charlie this is Gordon. When we were walking after Herbology, he tripped and Alecto Carrow stepped on his hand."

Charlotte examined Gordon's right hand. It looked like his finger was bent weirdly. She wasn't sure if it was broken or dislocated. After reading up on some healer spells, she tried to perform a spell that would allow her to see the bones of the hands.

"Okay Gordon, I am going to perform a spell, that would allow me to see what the problem is."

"Will it hurt?" he whimpered.

"No it won't hurt. It is a diagnostic spell." She pointed her wand to his hand and muttered the spell. The hand now looked like a skeleton, she could see all the bones. David and Gordon gasped at the skeleton hand. "Hmm, it looks like it isn't broken but it is dislocated. I can perform a spell to fix this."

"Is the spell going to hurt?" he whimpered again.

"Yes, but your hand will be fixed." She saw his scared expression. "But, I can put some numbing potion, if you would like?"

"Yes, please!" he nodded enthusiastically.

She summoned the numbing potion. "You will not be able to feel your hand for an hour." She used a dropper and placed two drops on his knuckle. After a few minutes, she carefully said "Episkey."

Gordon's finger went back to the normal position. He immediately smiled, "Thank you!"

She gave him a smile. "I'm glad I could help." She ruffled his hair and turned to David. "Are you hurt too?" she asked.

David smiled, "No, I am fine. Thanks Charlie." He gave her a hug. She packed up her bag and left the boys dorm.

 _Valentine's Day_

Headmaster Snape banned any frivolous decorations and inappropriate behavior between couples. However, he never mentioned that gifts couldn't be exchanged.

Charlotte always liked the holiday and tried to dress up more nicely, without being too obvious. She tied her hair in a crown braid around her head and wore silver star earrings. At breakfast there were heart shaped omelets.

She saw some couples and friends giving each other gifts. However most were terrified to do anything in front of the Carrows. She saw Daphne Greengrass giving Theodore a gift. Immediately she became jealous. She knew that they were just friends, but she still couldn't help her feelings.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and it was Gordon, her brother's friend. He looked very sweaty and his face was red. "Um, hi Charlotte."

"Hello." She smiled back sweetly.

Gordon looked even more nervous now, "Happy Valentine's Day!" he nearly screamed out. He closed his eyes, leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Almost immediately, he pulled back and dumped two chocolate frogs in her lap. He then ran and left the Great Hall.

Charlotte turned red due to the fact that majority of the Ravenclaw table was watching them, since he yelled. She saw David going after his friend. She returned her attention to her breakfast, trying to cool herself down. Padma nudged her, "Who is that?" she asked grinning hysterically.

"Just one of David's friends." She looked up at the Slytherin table and saw Theodore look right at her and he gave her a wink, she blushed again and focused at her food.

For the rest of the day, her friends in Ravenclaw teased her about her admirer. For her last class she had Charms with Theodore. After the lesson, Theodore discretely gave her a note. _Meet me after dinner in the greenhouse._

Before dinner, she went up to her brother's dormitory and found Gordon hiding there. "Hello Gordon."

The poor boy turned bright red, "Charlotte! What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to thank you for your gift this morning. I wasn't sure what you like, but I brought you some pumpkin pasties."

Gordon took the pumpkin pasties silently. He fidgeted before blurting out, "I'm sorry for this morning."

"Why?" she was confused. "I enjoyed the chocolate frogs you gave me."

"I shouldn't have kissed you, in front of everyone."

Charlotte giggled, "Perhaps not, but I didn't mind it." She walked towards to the door, "If you get hurt again, don't hesitate to find me."

After dinner, she snuck into the greenhouse. In the very back of the garden, she found Theodore sitting on the ground with a picnic set up. He looked up, "Hi."

She sat down next to him and gave him a kiss, "Is this for us?"

He nodded, "Yes, we already ate dinner, so I just got some dessert and wine."

"What if Professor Sprout finds us here?" she asked before popping a grape in her mouth.

"Don't worry, she subbing for Madam Pince in the library." He sipped some wine, "So do I have some competition with that first year boy?" he winked.

She slapped him lightly, "No, that was David's friend. He was just thanking me for healing him." She went on to talk about the other injuries she healed in the last month and was starting to get a little tipsy with the wine she was drinking.

Theodore was telling her about Slughorn pushover tendencies and how Snape was a better Head of Slytherin than him. He was interrupted by Charlotte pressing her lips on his. Slowly the kiss became more heated and she could feel the tension leaving her body.

She unbutton his shirt while she felt him doing the same to her. She shyly grazed her hand on his torso, but pulled back in surprise. She looked down and saw that his stomach was now well-defined. "When did you get these?" she asked in shock. The last time she saw Theodore shirtless was when they got caught in the library by Snape.

Theodore blushed, "I've been working out, its helps with my stress. Do you like it?" He was never confident in his looks. He knew he wasn't no Crabbe or Goyle, but being best friends with Blaise, made him self conscious.

Charlotte stared at him before she nodded, "What about me? Does my body please you?" she inwardly cringed on her wording. Her shirt was wide open and her bra was visible.

Theodore stared at her breasts and raised his hand, "Can I?" he gestured to her chest. She nodded and he hesitantly squeezed her left breast. He then leaned forward and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him. He pulled her into his lap.

Eventually he gently put her on the picnic blanket and was about to remove her bra. They were interrupted by a crash. Neville was standing with a broken pot near his feet.

Theodore and Charlotte completely froze. Neville looked pale and then turned around and left.

Sighing, Charlotte got up and used her wand to dress again. "Sorry, I need to go." Theodore understood and gave her one last kiss. She thanked him, "Thank you for this. It was very sweet of you."

Charlotte left the greenhouse and chased after Neville. He didn't turn around and had his fists clenched. She tried to catch up to him but he kept walking faster. He finally stopped walking once he reached the Barnabas the Barmy painting. He entered the room of requirements and she followed him.

He turned around, "What the hell was that?" he bellowed. "Are you sleeping with him?"

"Honestly, that is none of your business."

"He's a Slytherin and a Death Eater. How could you?"

"He's not a Death Eater!" she blurted out.

"How do you know?" he asked skeptically. "Are you sleeping with him for information? Is that how you found out Luna was at the Malfoys?" His face suddenly stung due to her slapping him.

"It is not like that at all." She pinched her nose in irritation, "He's my husband." She took off the charm on her hand and displayed her ring.

Neville jaw dropped, "W-What?"

Charlotte snorted, "You know how it is, I'm a pureblood. There was always a chance my future husband would be decided for me. My grandfather and Mr. Nott arranged it many years back."

"But most of them wait until they finish school!" he argued. He knew very well about all the pureblood customs growing up with his grandmother. She even tried to set him up with some French pureblood witches. While Augusta Longbottom had no dislike towards muggle-borns and half-bloods, she would prefer her grandson to continue to pureblood line.

"I know, but I turned seventeen this summer and Mr. Nott wanted to secure his family legacy as a precaution."

"Merlin, wow. I feel sorry for you."

"Don't be. Theodore isn't like his father. He is not a death eater. You know about his patrols, he is not cruel or mean anymore."

Neville thought about it, "It doesn't mean that he won't become a death eater. What will happen to you if they find out you have been healing other students?"

Charlotte sighed, "I don't know."

 **AN:** I know the greenhouse scene was very awkward, but that was the point. They are two teenagers attempting to figure out their relationship in this scary time. I am also trying to figure out if I want the whole school to know about their marriage before or after the final battle.


End file.
